Halo:Reach

Excited about:

Probably I am most excited about the new class system and how it will incorporate into the campaign and multiplayer. Those who played the beta know a little something about the classes as it comes to multiplayer. The shield class was good for Capture the Flag and the jet pack was cool for death matches. I’m more interested how it works with the campaign. I am also excited about the new Forge. It looks large and awesome. I didn’t mess with the Halo 3 Forge, but it didn’t seem to interesting to me at the time. Those are probably the only 2 things I’m really excited about

Not Excited about:

The look. I know they ‘redid’ the game engine and what not to fit more polygons or magic juice to make it look better. But it still looks very similar. The style of all the games has never really been touched at all. It’s always the same look and feel. I’m sure you could still have as much fun linking up xboxes and playing Halo 1. Why after all these games has no one ever decided to switch up the look at feel of the Halo universe. I mean look what it did to Batman. It’s fresh, new, and cool again.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Excited about:

Almost everything to tell you the truth. As sad as it might sound to some people, I think I put more time into Call of Duty:MW2 than any other game I have ever touched. It looks brilliant, and actually much better than Reach. They have been releasing a lot of new multiplayer info on it. The way you acquire weapons and attachments has been improved. No longer do you grind it out through the attachments. You can use in-game money to either purchase new weapons you unlocked, or if you don’t want that weapon…use the money on what attachments you want for already owned weapons. Now we can beast up our favorite weapons instead of being awarded with something we will never even fire. And on a side note…..the remote control car bomb you can drive is very awesome and nostalgic for me.

Not excited about:

Mostly about problems that might arrive with the game, as far as glitches. I know a lot of multiplayer glitches ruined the last game for some people. And I’m not excited about my Korean lag when playing with an American host. They should have an option of what country or area you want to search through to find a game. I think the new transformer game did that if I’m not mistaken.

Verdict: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Although I will be purchasing and playing Halo:Reach till Call of Duty arrives. I’m pretty sure I will be doing a switch once Black Ops is here.

Mentioning these great titles was always a feature of the weekly podcast and since the the show is on a temporary hold I figured why not continue the updates here.

So without further ado here are some can’t miss mods to check out…

Nightmare House 2 – http://nh2.wecreatestuff.com/ (HL:2 Ep2 required) Status: Released

I will admit it.. this game is genuinely creepy and pretty damn scary. Many devs struggle to create a truly atmospheric gameplay experience, but this team has surely done just that. The game utilizes some powerful new effects and a masterful implementation of lighting systems in game to really bring the world to life, an environment that you may make you a bit hesitant to press on.. What they have done with the Source Engine is just amazing. We Create Stuff, the team behind this great title, has been hard at work for about 3 years polishing and refining their gameplay experience. I must say their time and effort has paid off.

Operation Black Mesa http://www.moddb.com/mods/operation-black-mesa (Source engine game required) Status: TBD

Operation Black Mesa….not to be confused with Black Mesa Source is a recreation of Half Life: Opposing Force on the Source engine. While this game may be a bit far off you can already see from the early videos and concept art that this will be a mod to be reckoned with.. This is not a mere reskinning effort, they are certainly putting in a great deal of time to this project to create a truly unique experience and really push the Source engine to the max.

Hazard: The Journey Of Life http://www.demruth.com/hazard.htm Status: Demo Released

This game won 5th place in the Make Something Unreal contest … had an appearance at e3 as well and I was also pleasantly surprised to see this game mentioned in an article at IGN. For being a very indie title( the team is helmed by 1.. ) this game has received a great deal of press and praise which I must say is all well warranted. The trippy visual style makes this title stand out from the crowd. The colors! The colors!.. In addition to the superb visual stylings this title sports some very interesting gameplay that I have yet to see matched. This is one game that will really get you thinking as you try to figure out your path through the madness that is Hazard. The developer has aptly dubbed this title as the worlds first: Multi Award Winning Philosophical First Person Single Player Exploration Puzzle Art Game or … MAWPFPSPEPAG. lol that’s a mouthful.

Oh, but what is a little bit of industry drama without the nerd-rage fanboy drama? The following is from the gaming community I frequent:

Scott Miller and the guy who came up with the Phantom should start a business together. They are both great Stand Up Philosophers.

I’d laugh in the face (with bits of spittle flying into their cheeks and eyes) at the investors that pony up money for this.

Come on guys…Pigs can’t fly!

I’d swear they are just so used to screwing around and saying “It’s coming!” That they don’t know how to stop, or they’re just laughing and seeing how much longer they can string people along, even with 3Drealms collapse.

These were consecutive posts too. Pretty angry, aren’t these guys?

But my personal favorite, by a multiple offender:

Oh get fucked, Scott, the con’s over, no one believes your lies anymore. Just slink into obscurity like John Romero and never reveal your face in public again.

Yikes. This kid needs to chill out in front of a TV or something. But then, with the recent news of DNF revival, the same poster strikes again:

I’m not a “youth” anymore.

And the reasons that sold it when I was aren’t ones I give a flying fuck about anymore.

The time passed long ago.

Ok, maybe he doesn’t need time to chill out in front of the TV. He just needs to be bitch-slapped. I’m embarrassed to admit he is a regular at a community I visit.

From another poster, I then get this:

George Broussard, however, is a con artist, and all the internet snark in the world doesn’t change that fact.

In which I reply with this:

Explain this one.

And the response is…this?

No thanks. I have better ways to waste my time.

I tell you, these are examples of some of the worst gamers out there, and we’d be better off without this attitude. What good does it bring? Well, I can gloat in that DNF is being released, and apparently that ‘idiot investor’ is Gearbox, who we know is far from idiot.

So just remember, next time you see a bunch of kids bad-mouthing something to do with the game industry, get the facts straight and do a little research of your own. Don’t look like a “me-too” tool trying to be cool with the angry nerds.

I’m sure you’ve heard by now about the new 360 controller. It looks the same, but they’ve taken out the colored buttons for black/white/grey buttons. I wanted to punctuate that sentence with a question mark, but it may be confusing even though a question is definitely in there. The main reason for the new controller though is the redesigned D-Pad. If you twist the D-Pad, the corners lower to…make just the D-Pad visible, I guess. It really makes no sense and does not solve the initial problem. I mean, I honestly don’t have that much of the problem with the D-Pad to begin with, but compare it to the Playstation pad and there is obviously an issue. They even say it’s designed for the hardcore. Anytime I need the D-Pad for long periods of time, I just use my Street Fighter Gamepad. I have to admit that I haven’t tried it yet, so I could be off on my assumptions. I will try it before totally ignoring it. Though, it is going to be $65 and include a charging kit…that’s not going to get me to bite.

The above and the rising of the price of Live is just hitting me in the wrong places. I don’t know what Microsoft is thinking. Raising the Live price does nothing for the loyal, and an odd controller-redesign is not exciting either. Kinect is around the corner, and while the beta kits are not to be spoken of, I’ve heard the technology works amazingly well and the UI is very responsive and beautiful – there’s just not really any good games for the thing. So they make some casual games for a cool piece of hardware, then design a controller for the hardcore that will most likely be ignored – while raising the price of Live. This was all after a mediocre E3 showing.

While here in Florida I’ve been working on 200/200 in Case Zero. I’m almost there, and having a blast. Four play-throughs on that game so far, and it is so much fun. Again, I am recommending it.

Case Zero is something epic. You get a standalone prequel to the upcoming Dead Rising 2 which acts as a demo for those interested, but also a nicely wrapped up story arc to satisfy what demos cannot generally provide. It is $5 though, which I think is worth it, especially when you consider that your progress is then imported into Dead Rising 2. Even if you didn’t plan on picking up Dead Rising 2, you really should give this a shot.

The thing that has really made me connect with the game, making me even more excited about the full game, is the main plot and characters involved. You’re a Father trying to keep your Daughter safe. This is something I can obviously connect with. At my Daughter’s age, it is so important that I make sure I have her bottle and diapers wherever we go. Yeah, that’s not the same as an anti-zombie agent, but still…

It makes me wonder about other games with similar themes. If I just met a girl I’ve fallen in love with, would it be more engrossing to play a game with a similar plot? I think a Silent Hill game or two did this with family members. I think a deeper plot element with close personal relationships would be big in gaming if done correctly (I could be missing this, since I can’t stand RPG’s). Like sometimes the need for a suspenseful movie, I could look for the same in a game. Something to do with a Father/Daughter relationship? Brotherly love? Friendship? I generally skip this in favor for gameplay, but Case Zero has probably changed the way I look at things. I’m now more interested in playing Heavy Rain since it is deep in personal relationships – but will the gameplay keep me going? The demo was a bit slow for me…

But back to Case Zero; what Capcom has done here is excellent. No surprise really since Lost Planet 2 is such an awesome game. Honestly, I want to see more of these $5 mini-games that also give you a good impression of the full game while supplementing story and possibly affecting the that said full game.

Now…Zombrex or High Stakes Edition?

Microsoft did the research. The number of members that may not renew or start a new account, while being affected by the pricing, will still pull in the money. These gamers have games invested, time invested, and XBL friends. They are, in a sense, stuck. Also, $10 extra is not a lot. It’s just a shit thing to do.

A shit thing to do. Companies do things for business purposes, but sometimes, a company will let certain ideas go for the sake of the customer. Microsoft went from the latter to the former. I also think Sony screwed up. Their PSN Plus service offers me absolutely nothing that I care to spend $50 a year on. I don’t even get any instant gratification from giving them that $50.

The price won’t kill me, or anyone really – Microsoft knows this. The problem here is that they are doing this to us. If they can come out with a good reason for it, I’m all ears. Microsoft is doing less for us and more for them. The opposite of what they did for us when creating the brand (though I’ve heard they turned down making Dreamcast games playable on the XBox, so I’m starting to get even more pissed).

This same is a few things. First, there’s always a map. It could be a western, or my main point, Mafia II, and there’s still a magical mini-map. To me, that just throws out all immersion. I would have loved it if in RDR, all you could do was pull out a map you somehow obtained. It should be part of your inventory. And if you’re lost, go up to an NPC with the map out and they will point out where you are. Or if you’re alone, use the sun or moon. Mafia II threw me off today. I couldn’t help but feel I was playing your average sandbox game but with a different skin. Secondly, I get to some timed missions. They are not fun, just filler between the fun. It starts to feel like a chore. Wheelman did a good job by making all the chore missions optional, but by doing them you upgrade certain aspects of your character, be that driving or shooting. Red Faction made chore missions still affect the entire game as a whole, as you may have destroyed an enemy instillation that later on allows you to waltz through. That is what sandbox really is.

If I’m going to continue to play these sandbox games, there needs to be less me too, and more immersion.

And all this from a couple hours of Mafia II.

Game Informer – They’ve got Facebook, but it’s limiting. Phil Kollar has told me they are working on the sharing tools, so they get a pass for now.

Kotaku – They’ve got a tweet option – but I don’t like Kotaku. Articles tend to be written with certain intentions in mind, and as good of a writer as Stephen Totilo is, I can’t help but think he has little clue on what he’s writing about. Apparently he just played Doom for the first time. I dunno…

Joystiq – This was my go-to guy. Ping.fm is mandatory as it shares with both Twitter and the Bluegamer.net facebook Fan Page. They removed all sharing functions except for “like” for Facebook. That is seriously lame. Their sibling, Engadget, has a nice tweet link at the bottom of their articles, and like Kotaku, it brings up a window with the text so you could edit it before initializing the tweet. I’m still baffled at why Joystiq removed these functions in the first place…

GiantBomb – I think the community here sucks as talked about on the Bluecast. Sucky doesn’t stop there, as the tweet links only work sometimes. And when they do, they aren’t set to auto-shorten URL’s, so you might as well create the tweet yourself.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun – Awesome for gaming news…but it’s only PC. They have the sharing thing going on correctly, but Twitter as the only option sucks. Again, Ping.fm is mandatory for me. I don’t mind copying the twitter link and pasting it into my Ping.fm Chrome extension, but still…

Let me know if I’ve missed any sites. These are just what I find when looking for news. N4G…you never know if it’s real, so I just avoid. If any of these sites are interested, Bluegamer.net has a neat sharing function, similar to what Joystiq used to have.

I will repeat, BlueGamer.net has the greatest sharing function in the gaming-blogsphere. Let’s just hope that helps me out in some way…

Anyway, not too long after cancellation, an image of the game popped up on the internet. At this time I really didn’t know where to look nor had the connection or capabilities of getting the game into a playable state on my Dreamcast. Since the recent interest, in a matter of minutes I found the image, put it on a CD and loaded it up on the Dreamcast. It’s an amazingly fun game. Arcade air combat with a killer soundtrack, comprised of awesome punk music – very similar to Crazy Taxi all-around.

But like I always am with my gadgetry, I wanted to play this in the best way possible. I have the VGA adapter for the Dreamcast, but internet searches just led me to the answer of ‘no’. That is, most newer TV’s can’t display the Dreamcast’s resolution out of the box. It would require a scaler around the $100+ mark, or modification of the VGA box itself – not sure where I’d even start there. I could just hook it up to my computer monitor, but I’m in it for the big screen especially if I have guests over.

So my next project will be find a way to get the VGA resolutions out of my DC on my big screen. It’s a mandatory assignment and I’ll post as I progress.

I’ve been playing the Scott Pilgrim game on PSN. I got it on PSN instead of waiting for the XBLA version for a few reasons: $8 through Ubi’s store, no online play…and that’s about it. First impressions were okay. Once I “got it” I realized this is just River City Ransom. At first, I was put off by this because with all the time put into that game I knew I was done forever. But with the music, graphics, and random video game references throughout, the game has me. Not thinking I’d do local co-op, I had a couple buddies over for three player. Luckily, I had the DS3 for rumble, the SIXAXIS that came with the unit, and an adapter to use a PS2 controller (used for 2D Pad for my SHMUPS). So setting it up was no problem. It’s fun, but the time put in singleplayer doesn’t translate well for multiplayer, unless the other players are roommates, family, or significant others. It just takes time.

The music in this is good. From Anamanaguchi:

And a few of us will be hitting up the midnight showing for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I’m about 90% back to health, so I hope between QuakeCon, midnight showing, and daughter time, my body still has a chance to fully recover.