tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14002491417897785892024-03-14T10:10:52.935-07:00GlobWriting bad articles at bipolar times since 2011.Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-76822279873505485872011-11-09T05:12:00.000-08:002011-11-09T05:29:55.766-08:00The many lessons games teachIt's interesting about video games. The reception that people have of them, their general popularity and what the actual game is can reflect the views and values of society today. There are many new releases, each viewed by the public differently, and this can show us how the people around us change.<br /><br />For example, we can see that a game as brown and basic as Call of Duty can still be viewed as the most highly anticipated game series of today, despite the fact that people with actual taste disregard the franchise entirely. For as long as the COD franchise is loved, we can know that there are quite a number of children and manchilds still living among us.<br /><br />Bastion and Minecraft reveals that many people are able to look past "inferior" grafics to enjoy the gameplay. Something can look worse than Davud, but there are other elements at play. Truthfully, the success of Minecraft was due to bandwagoning, many people bought the game because other people did. It's odd, considering people were willing to pay for an unfinished product and trusted someone over the Internet, but where there's high risk, there's high reward.<br /><br />It's amazing that a single map on Warcraft III could spawn a whole genre of games. A game doesn't need to be a triple A release to be extremely popular, nor does it even need to cost money. It could be a single map. But the fact that the map was enjoyable to groups of people, and with alot of help from luck can be successful. Dota made people go, hey this game would be amazing with more friends, I think I'm going to convert them!<br /><br />And there's people saying that The Binding of Isaac is shit, easy and fair. We can be sure that the Internet is full of smelly fucking liars, and that I'm mad.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-36662688712499852522011-10-22T18:57:00.000-07:002011-11-10T06:40:14.318-08:00DX: The Missing Link ReviewThe first DLC for Deus Ex: Human Revolution was just released and in a word, yes, it is worth your dollar. It's more of the same (which is a good thing), with new environments, brilliant characters and a slight but noticable graphical upheaval. Although it may sound like (and it is) you're paying for a part of the game that should have already been a part of the full game, the $15 admission isn't too high an asking price.<br />
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The Missing Link takes place during the three days Adam mysteriously goes off the grid after blowing up a port in Hengsha. Turns out Tong's advice in aiding Adam's investigation into Megan's death would be rough ride, though correct nontheless. You awake on a vessel, drifiting in and out of consciousness with two unfimilar faces infront of you. Beaten to pulp, tied to an EMP chair and for some reason half-naked, you have no recollection of how you got here or who-is-who. An so it's up to you to get to the bottom of yet another mystery.<br />
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The roughly six hour journey is a suprisingly intruging romp, filled with twists, truns, good dialogue and some wonderful characters. It isnt canon in the sense that it dosent affect Human Revolution's storyline, but what it does expand well on it's universe as a whole. As the DLC comes close to concluding, you'll be forced to make a decision that will play out an according ending. Unexpected (like a lot of other things), expect to spend more time than you would have thought trying to make the best choice. A much better and thought-filled ending sequence than HR, and it really is the most memorable part of the download.<br />
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Everything else is what you would expect of Deus Ex game. The envrionments are well designed, with nooks and crannies available to those who look hard enough and enjoy entering their large bodies into tight spaces (pun intended). Weather effects have also been given stronger effects, with the rain looking particularly nice and convincing. The addition of not having access to any sort of equipment or augmentations until you find your gear within the ship creates a nice opening touch. Not being the mechanical God you became in HR led to some intense moments, freshening up what we already know. If there's one thing The Missing Link absolutely nails though, it's the boss fight and how your actions affect other characters. Gone are the four copy-cats of the Beauty and the Beast club from MGS4. Without spoiling anything, what you have here can be completed in more ways than one. You can even ninja your way through. Contrary to HR's boss fights, it feels in place and you know why you're having the fight, instead of the 'fight-random-person-to-continue' mentality behind them. You're also given stronger feedback according to how you played through. Murdered even that poor soldiers cat? Expect a mental grilling. Saved everyone, even though you were given a choice between the two? The Mesiah really has returned.<br />
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All of this adds up to make The Missing Link a fun expansion and a joy to play. It's just a shame it wasn't alreayd a part of HR. Methinks the decision made in it could have greatly influenced the main storyline. It's pathetic on the developers, but wattayagonadoaboutit? It's worth your money, worth your time, worth your attention, but most important of all, it's a good sign of what's to come. That's right folk, more DLC! The game industry just continues to evolve for the better.<br />
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That was sarcasm, by the way...Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-11209386706899713632011-10-11T00:57:00.000-07:002011-10-11T00:57:26.261-07:00First Gameplay Footage: Hitman Absolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>My my, now isn't this a pleasent suprise? Gaming's most ruthless assasin, Agent 47, seems to have finally decided to come out of hibernation following his long absence since Blood Money. The 'Run For Your Life' demo walkthrough just below you displays a multitude of different aspects previously unseen in Hitman titles, with sneaking, tense gun-play and a cinematic vibe all being a part of IO's new (and frankly overdue) direction for the series.<br />
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Some may argue this isn't the Agent 47 we know, what with the focus turning on manshooting in latter half of the demo, and the eye sore of a HUD aswell as the 'wall-hax' raising questions amongst some, but don't be dettered; it's much to soon to write off the game as such. For now, enjoy a well constructed demo that reaches some dramatic peaks and end with an anticipation loading bang.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NWf3dPKYf1E?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-21020647828158676842011-10-08T01:32:00.000-07:002011-10-08T01:42:14.216-07:00CHAMPION SNEAK PEEK- FALCON NIGGERFurkan Calismaz the FALCON NIGGER<br /><br />Q Stomach grab- He target an enemy champion and pulls them with his falcon paw. The enemy champion bleeds for 27 seconds and dies.<br /><br />W Youtube glitches- He silenced for unlimited time so he can youtube "LoL glitches". Every second he has a 50% chance of finding a glitch and becoming unsilenced. When this happens, he has a 0% chance of actually doing the glitch.<br /><br />E Aspect of bear- 50% chance he becomes pantheon and laughs in lane 500 times. 50% chance he becomes udyr, and he do not feel pity, even for you.<br /><br />R Summon: go bear- Can only be used when TIBBAHS is around. Tibbahs can use Summon: go bear. This summons Furkan the FALCON NIGGER. Furkan is then banned from ranked for 400,000 bullets in 12 seconds.<br /><br />Passive Mad- He mad. He kill davud's leg hairs. Then Davud the ARGHS is special summoned from the graveyard. Opponent lose life points.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-81300852037038211412011-10-02T20:28:00.000-07:002011-10-02T21:16:14.608-07:00Dead IslandHere's a positively only hate-based review. For this game, I'm going to be pointing out flaws in game mechanics and bugs, that I've seen in my own play-through, and others.<br /><br />This is a zombie co-op game featuring 4 immune survivors. You get to play as any one of them, and they each have a different kind of rage to get them out of sticky situations. There's an abo girl who uses guns, problem is that you only find guns half way into the game. Her rage is that she pulls out a gun from somewhere. Why can't I use this gun all the time? (As you can probably tell, I'm starting out having weak points, but bare with me).<br /><br />The chink girl uses knives and other sharp weapons. Her rage is that she pulls out a small dagger that inflicts more damage than your bigger fiery katanas or electric sickles.<br /><br />The blacky pulls out his fists. He drops his two-tonne sledgehammer and proceeds to kill everything next to him, dealing more damage than his actual sledgehammer. Tying in with this, weapons break in two or three zombie kills, leaving you with your weakest weapons, your damaged weapons or using your fists. For some reason, using your fists inflicts more damage than using any damaged weapon. Visually the weapon looks fine, but it's broken as the game says. Even if the sledgehammers fucking head drops off, swinging around the stick should deal more damage than your fists in any occasion.<br /><br />Possibly the strongest point I have against this game is that you can break down doors. Usually games let you unlock doors, and bar entrance to others. This game lets you break down certain doors and not others. I'll let you think about that for a sec... You can break down one door, but not another more weaker one. This is outrageous and extremely silly.<br /><br />This game features zombies and items spawning in the exact same locations, with no randomness. It's better to explain when recounting an actual situation. I've gone into a small generator room, then got out. Two zombies came out of the forest running at me. I killed them, then went back inside. I got out and the exact same fucking thing happened again.<br /><br />Using melee weapons in this game means that the cursor has to be on the zombie for it to actually hit, even if your character makes a wide swing, he will not get any zombies on his sides.<br /><br />I've had a woman who was begging me for water. There were two cans of perfectly fine energy drink right next to her. BUT KUTAY, ENERGY DRINK MAKES PEOPLE MORE THIRSTY! Yeah, it probably does, but that doesn't explain why my character can eternally survive just on energy drinks and no water and nobody else can. There's a problem here somewhere, I'll let you figure it out.<br /><br />Walking through a sea of NPC's will have them whine the exact same fucking lines to you, over and over. When they aren't whining about a quest, they'll whine about themselves. Just shut the fuck up please. I don't want you to whine to me about the same shit whenever I brush passed you.<br /><br />One girl has a huge cock in her bikini. If you look for her, you can probably find her.<br /><br />Getting items from inside a luggage bag requires you to hit E to bend down and first open the bag then get up. Then you need to hit E again to collect anything in there. Frustrating more than anything.<br /><br />Hello escort quests. I've jumped into a car while the person I'm meant to be escorting was continuously running around it. I had to get out, then get back in for some reason and this happened alot more times.<br /><br />Whenever a character refers to you, they will call you a "he". Problem is that I was playing the chink girl. This isn't really a problem as it only shows how unprofessional the developers are.<br /><br />In cutscenes, even if I'm only playing one survivor, all of the survivors will appear with me. After a certain quest for example, the camera would swoop around the faces of all the survivors, thanking everyone even if I did all the work. On top of this I'm right in the background.<br /><br />I'm not even sure I've covered all of the broken game mechanics to be honest, but I can't think of any more so I'll move on.<br /><br />Pathing for zombies is absolutely fucked. Often zombies would simply be running in place, immune to all damage and just well running in place. Zombies will often appear within your character and attack you from the inside. You will most likely die.<br /><br />I've taken a car to the petrol station to get some canisters of fuel. I loaded one of them onto the car and decided I needed a break from the game and saved and quit. Upon re entering, only the canister I put into the car hadn't disappeared, and on top of that it wasn't even in my car and didn't have any fuel left in it.<br /><br />Something else is that I've sometimes dropped through the ground and died. Simple eh, but really confusing when it happens.<br /><br />Those are all the glitches in the game, and I'm not even talking about the beta or the officially released developer's build. The one where you could press T to noclip around the level. To those who have already played this game, you can feel my pain. To those who are considering buying it, I think the message is clear. Avoid this like the plague.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-88718119249441281732011-10-02T07:11:00.000-07:002011-10-02T07:50:02.823-07:00Space mareenI'm gonna do it. Something that I've never done before. I don't know if I can, but I'm gonna try. If I get taken away, tell my family that I love them. I'm going to... REVIEW A GAME I HAVEN'T FINISHED! Anything happen? No? Well, everything seems to- WHAT WAS THAT!.. Oh, false alarm, it's my begrudging bird in the lounge room. That thing can make devilish sounds.<br /><br />It's called Warhammer 40k: Space Marine. I've heard of some shit game titles, but this one has to take the cake. My devil bird could come up with something twice as better, as long as the game involves hissing and scratching. And biting. Which it doesn't, so nevermind, the title is great.<br /><br />It's a third person sci-fi shooter that exists within the Warhammer 40k universe (whatever that is). It's made by I forget who. Doesn't really matter though, let's get on with it.<br /><br />Initially, I noticed that the mouse sensitivity was much too low, I'd have to roll the mouse across the table to get the marauding marauder to turn 180 degrees, which is a huge pain rectified quickly and easily. It's disturbing that the mouse sensitivity wasn't fixed accordingly.<br /><br />Initially too, I noticed that the game is fucking fun. There's nothing like cleaving through waves of insignificant pests trying to warn you. The melee weapons in this game are extremely satisfying, there's even a chainsaw sword saw that makes an appetizing BRRRRRRRRRRR as it slices through the air and indeed enemies.<br /><br />It gets more and more repetitive the more you go-on, more on that later.<br /><br />The weakest point of this game is the use of guns, especially later on in the game. The further you get in the game, the more ranged enemies there are and the stronger the melee enemies get, strong to the point where trying to melee them will result you in losing half of your health/shield bar (we'll get to that later). This makes the game lose alot of its initial fun, but it gets worse, the weapons and indeed the ammunition you pick up are suitable only for close-distance targets, such as a shotgun or a machine-gun shotgun (seriously). Your trusty SMG is great in the later part of the game, the bad part is that enemies' health bars increase and ammunition scattered around doesn't. I've been in 15 minute skirmishes where I was forced to use my weak as all fuck pistol to slowly chip away at the health of the enemies.<br /><br />This game uses a regenerating shield that, well regenerates over time and a health bar that regenerates as you execute enemies. Problem is, that attempting to execute enemies in the later part of the game will get you killed. Poking your head out of cover, even to evade a grenade or the ever bountiful artillery strike will result in you crawling back almost dead due to the other enemies. Very frustrating. Very.<br /><br />To compensate for this somewhat, you get a rage meter that regenerates your health, makes melee attacks do more damage and introduce bullet-time when aiming with weapons. As you can probably tell, this isn't very useful for enemies that are far away, or even against close-up enemies, as they demolish your health with every strike. So what's the fucking point of it?<br /><br />Another... not-exactly issue is the way certain characters pronounce words. Lieutenant is universally pronounced as Leftenent. That's right, Left Ten Ent. Weird, but it's probably got to do with the Warhammer 40k universe, which I know almost nothing about.<br /><br />This is a shining example of a game that get's shitter and shitter the more you play. I couldn't stand it anymore. Like I said, it gets more and more repetitive and eventually becomes fucking horrible and boring. Don't play this folks, give it a pass. Waste your time on better activities. Shame, I was having so much fun at- What was that? A door opeewouij oiwnmr l; rfswm;ojlkStylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-29968867401978521122011-09-29T04:37:00.001-07:002011-09-29T05:07:22.918-07:00FETHREER (lol what the fuck)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdmhNtv1Yk4Bdt3eUIwhiQ7bJCjmnXBCMDSqNmILOjV1Alqt5k8B-MLOjT-cXXSZvWJNFc4yZ2voBBQh3H_pS2tk-M3NRRpHnWUPNl7qOVaveaYa3l6au3Ju-3JMa-q2dRlejXObms6_8/s1600/FEAR-3Tease.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdmhNtv1Yk4Bdt3eUIwhiQ7bJCjmnXBCMDSqNmILOjV1Alqt5k8B-MLOjT-cXXSZvWJNFc4yZ2voBBQh3H_pS2tk-M3NRRpHnWUPNl7qOVaveaYa3l6au3Ju-3JMa-q2dRlejXObms6_8/s320/FEAR-3Tease.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657748676770130386" border="0" /></a><br />Fear 3 is a shooter with horror elements and was designed with two-player co-op in mind. And I emphasise this. You miss out alot if you play only the single player, like me.<br /><br />That being said, play Fear 3 in co-op, or don't play at all. The game isn't good enough to merit playing by yourself. In multiple occasions I've found myself having to fight a boss or two, wondering why the game was so bloody difficult. It seems there's no difficulty scaling at all, depending on if you're going solo or not.<br /><br />Many of the cutscenes and story plots don't make much sense either, as the brothers, Pointman and Fettel appear together, but after the cutscenes he dissapears (or helps you if you've managed to string someone along into playing with you). Actually, generally the plot is very weak. Half the time supernatural shit is happening that wasn't explained very well to me, such as why The Creep even exists (OHMAGOD PLOT SPOYLAS no), and why these random demon dogs start spawning half-way through the game.<br /><br />Pointman has the ability to slow down time (he has superhuman reflexes) and this allows him to have great accuracy and superb fighting skills. Fettel has the ability to shoot projectiles and possess enemy soldiers. He doesn't however have the ability to pick up weapons as he's dead but still kinda walking around as a red misty ghost (which is never explained or even mentioned).<br /><br />This game has indeed scared me a few times, but the majority of the game is just a modern FPS. Without the brothers, it does seem very generic and sometimes very boring. Like I said, you need two people for this game to be something special. But those few horrific times were very horrific. Having only a few scary moments makes those moments that much more special and unanticipated.<br /><br />The difficulty of this game is crazy. When the game doesn't have a new kind of boss type to throw at you, you see two or even three of those bosses walking around, WHICH IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, THESE FUCKERS CAN WALK THROUGH WALLS AND SHRUG OFF BULLETS LIKE THEY ARE NOTHING. YOU WANT TO REGENERATE YOUR HEALTH BEHIND A WALL? FUCK YOU, HERE'S A BOMB INSTEAD.<br /><br />Now, if only if I can kidnap somebody and force them to play this game with me...Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-91492842081627153822011-09-24T08:28:00.000-07:002011-09-24T08:41:34.961-07:00Deus Ex: Human Revolution ReviewThey say good things take time. What they never detail, however, is the excruciating pain that comes with waiting for something to come into fruition, or reach physicality, in this case. It's been well over a decade since the thinking man's shooter was released, with its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible Wars hitting our shelves but a mere seven years ago. Regarded by quite a large crowd as one of, if not, the best games ever made, Deus Ex's legacy is present in even the most minor of gaming museums. If you haven't played it, chances of you hearing it's orgasmic-to-some title, or references to it, are highly likely. This Mona Lisa of gaming position it acquired came from the sheer depth contained in a game that looked about as appealing as your wife's make up applied by a shogun. It's varied gameplay, open environments and thoughtfully layered storyline, full of intrigue, twists and turns, political struggles, social commentary and literature-filled influence gave it an auro of sophistication, keeping it very satisfying in terms of gameplay and repayable at the same time. Name one game in our most current time that's come anywhere at dreaming and achieving such an ambitious feat. That's right, you can't. BECAUSE SUCH A THING EXISTS NOT'ETH!<br />
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Fast forward to 2011, you can most certainly understand why this supposed prequel making a trilogy of a franchise that doesn't need another entry is making fans sweat waterfalls and general gamers to turn their heads and acknowledge its presence. It's a pair of massive shoes this young one is attempting to fit in, and whether it does or not is for YOU to decide. Here is but a collection of a simpletons opinion, so if you haven't experienced it yet, do so before reading ahead. Not only will it keep some of the surprises hidden, it will also make much more sense in understanding the qualms one may have about it (that is, unless you're the type that enjoys acting surprised. In that case I hate you.)<br />
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Enter Adam Jensen, the Head of Security for Sarif Industries which are a firm that prides itself on building augmentations for beings that are human. The central theme Human Revolution focuses on is indeed whether or not human augmentation is a way forward for a society at the very pinnacle of technological advancement. It raises some very relevant questions regarding the real world we live in today, what with our attachment to things made out of processors and wires. You can either remain a fundamentalist on your embracement of human purity or join the Power Rangers club by becoming better in every physically conceivable way than others to gain that employable edge. Wherever your moral stance, there is much to contemplate and set straight by the time the end credit roles. <br />
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Since this is a Deus Ex game, there is of course a large conspiracy gearing behind the scenes, making you seem like but a pawn in an overly complicated chess match. There are places to go, people to meet and grand ambient tracks to listen to, all the while deciding who is in fact vying for control of whom and how they're going about doing it.<br />
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The places you will go in HR are few in technical terms, but how they've been realized is something to admire. Aside from specific missions set in specific places, you will spend the majority of your time in medium scaled 'hubs'. These hubs, ranging from Detroit, America to Hengsha, China present quite acutely the impact a future of heavy advancements in technology has had in its infrastructural development. Afterall, Hengsha is a double deckered city. Each location has a distinctive look and feel to them, allowing you to separate them from each other quite rapidly. There is some revisiting of said places, but what little repetition there is, is more than compensated for by the vast amount of alternative routes you can take to get around the world. The adventures type will be greatly rewarded for their knack for exploration, as there are always places hiding goodies and experience points upon charting.<br />
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The realization of these maps is further enhanced by the positioning of everything navigable. Alternative routes mean alternative ways to tackle any given mission to suite your gameplay style. Can't be bothered squeezing through a conveniently sized vent? Bribe the man at the door for entry. Want to keep your visibility purely confidential? Take the rooftops. Don't like the faces of those two men over there? Double-backhand their faces for ultimate pimp-man satisfaction. The world is very much set-up as an open ended playground, it's design allowing you get around it in any play style that suits you, something that is cleverly extended into how you deal with people getting in your way.<br />
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You can complete HR without killing a single person. Although there is large contradiction that will challenge this remark, generally speaking, you don't need go the way of other murderous protagonists to further your experience. It's very much like Hitman: Blood Money. You do have the power to go in guns blazing, but not only does that decrease your chances of survival, it also takes away the satisfaction of infiltrating a building, getting your mission done and exiting it in one fluid motion, without having a single soul hear your peep. Another incentive to play like an non confrontational bi-sexual is the fact that you get a helluva lot more XP. Bonuses such as 'Ghost' and 'Merciful Soul' are only awarded when you eliminate enemies non-lethally, whilst presenting your friend bullet to an unknown persons head offer no such bonuses. It's all about offering the player the freedom of choice and the ability to experiment, rather than giving them AIDS and telling them to 'deal with it'.<br />
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These freedoms, however, come at a cost, and to an extent, a rather expensive one. There are exactly four boss battles in HR, with the last one probably being an unnecessary homage to horror sci-fi films. The crime isn't the bosses themselves -- if anything, they're quite well developed to look at. It's how the gameplay shifts into a bottleneck, rather, that become the problem. In a game that condones and promotes choice and specific play styles, being deliberately thrown into a situation you are illequiped for leads to frustrating times for players and question the decision opted by the developers. They're still fun in their own respects, with each of them set in unique environments matching their equally unique abilities, but put simply, it disrupts the brilliant flow HR starts from the moment it begins, at the same time gravitating from the principles it faithfully upholds. The fact that you don't know what their conflict with you is (aside from leaving you for dead shortly after the game begins, wherein a quick ride to the chop shop sees you return with some modifications), as well as a lack of justification for wanting Adam dead makes for some confusing and wholly forgettable moments. The best way to go about enjoying HR is to simply act like these boss fights don't even exist. Frankly the story is better without them (with the exception of Vasili, the augmented Russian with an attitude).<br />
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Another minor problem arises from the games integral component; augments. Being pimped out harder than a black man with gold teeth, Adam acquires life saving components without a say of his own [read: because his stomach dropped out after he was thrown through a pane of glass]. Moving on from whether he asked for it or not, you can acquire more augments by earning praxis points which you can then put into specific traits that will give you an edge in gameplay. Said augments range from hacking appliances, punching through walls and landing safely when falling off any height. Although varied, some are just plain useless, whilst the main problems comes from turning into a mechanical Jesus by the end sequence. You simply level up too fast, and with findable and purchasable praxis points throughout the world, there are times where you will feel as if you're too well prepared for a certain situation. Whilst some may argue that's a good thing, it takes away from being a unique character and destroys any potential 'water cooler moments', where you would otherwise talk about how you approach the game (ie. being a hacking genius rather than an unstoppable brute and vice versa).<br />
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The most offending part of HR, however, has to be the ending itself. Imagine spending countless hours playing a game, putting in your utmost moral efforts as well as game playing ability only to be shuffled into a room where pressing one of four buttons ends the game. <br />
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Such is the anticlimactic reality of HR. Experiencing an overall engrossing storyline that's been thoroughly explored both realistically and fictionally only to have it all end by the press of a red button is offending at best. Here Adam stands, the vanguard of humanity, the decider of humanities fate for decades to come, and all his actions committed, all his experiences had amount to nothing more than applying downward force into an object we're all too familiar with. If you havn't noticed by now, I hate the decision taken to end HR, but more importantly I hate buttons. It undermines the credibility of an otherwise astonishing game for an unnecessarily silly reason. Then again it was developed by a French team, so I guess it at least makes sense.<br />
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If there's one thing the original Deus Ex was, it would be how smart a game it was. It presented you with moments you couldn't fully comprehend, with references to literature that went in over your head. It made you think it terms of the characters and their decisions, and how they might be applied to our real world. As hard as HR tries to reach this summit, it never quite does. HR does make you think, but not nearly as much as the original did (although this may vary person to person). It's a detailed world, but the details come in the form of how augmentations work and what the immediate effects they're having on society rather than, say, how it is the answer to the future of humanity or how it will have a negative impact in the long run. It also dosent respond well to a violent playthrough. If you were to murder everyone in the first mission, the only grilling you'll receive is for the death of the suspect you could have interrogated. The fact that you've slaughtered all hostages dosent seem to bother anyone. Jews, maybe? Whatever the case, HR has every potential to be a smart game, but seems to be comfortable by simply remaining a smartly made game. It's shame that they couldnt capsize on the chance to enrich to plot as a whole (reading emails, for example, proved to be a very entertaining pastime), taking full advantage of the exceptional voice work and impressive acting. But this will do, pig. This will do.<br />
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The graphics, before I forget, are pretty good, though they won't be rivaling the likes of Crysis or any other game with a high graphical output. It does more than work, but it can be very 'edgy' at times; I don't think I've encountered a single, fully circular object in the whole game. The hubs are given more of a life with appropriate shades, and the color scheme overall works in sync with the given environments. There a missing blocks here and there coupled with the odd 2-D texture sprayed across some canvases, but it's nothing that will create a visible eye-sore. NPC's could have done with a better drama teacher, as their canned acting is basically the same for every one of them, which can get tiresome to see. Stiff facial features also fall into the 'Bummer, dude' list, but as said, nothing too problematic.<br />
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Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a compelling experience from start to finish. It does what it's set out to do, and although it hits a few glitches in expression, it manages to keep itself in check but offering you the power of choice. Choice to do whatever the hell you please, whether it be hacking Asian prostitutes or bashing walls open into toilets where Asian prostitutes are present. It also has the most rewarding stealth seen in a game since Theif. It breaks from the trend of mindless corridor-shooters and reminds us of a time when gaming was at its best, honoring those veterans that came before. It dosen't quite touch the sun, but it comes so achingly close. That is in itself a Falcon Salute worthy effort.Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-16970451046572428182011-08-07T03:58:00.000-07:002011-08-07T03:59:18.616-07:00DOTA Clone v0.6 CasualafiedAKA League of Legends (LoL). This MOBA genre game has an interesting community. Everybody in it has an opinion and believes it to be better than high-tier players. Due to this, Designers have many problems with balancing champions. There's a problem of whether to suit gameplay to lower-tier summoners, or high-tier summoners. This leads to the designers constantly breaking champions into uselessness.<br /><br />An example of this would be Evelynn, low-tier players cannot handle facing this champion in the enemy team, so they whine to Riot. Evelynn is an invisible-based champion, meaning an invisible-seeing ward can pretty much fuck her over.<br /><br />That being said, I believe, personally, that the summoner spell Flash should be removed from the game entirely for a few reasons. The first being is that it promotes being reckless with no danger to yourself. I've been in several situations where only Flash could save the enemy from dying, and hey, it works.<br /><br />The second reason is that the only way to counter a Flash is to pick up Flash yourself (unless you happen to be one of the few champions with insta-mobility spells). I pick up flash with 90% of my champions for the only reason that if an enemy flashes, I can flash too to ensure the kill.<br /><br />For characters, such as Kassidin and Leblanc, Flash goes too well for their skillset, allowing for double jumps, and in Leblonc's case, triple jumps. Personally, I think that this is just not fair.<br /><br />Ussually, with summoner spells, such as Ghost, there are multiple other summoner spells to counter it, such as Exhaust or Flash (lol). Not in the case of Flash.<br /><br />Another issue with this game, is the fact that most players build items and/or skills according to the champion they pick. While this is ok (to a degree) for cookiecutter champions like Sivir or Tryndamere, for most champions you should build according to the enemy you face. Too many times I've seen an ally pick berserkers over mercurys despite the enemy team being full of crowd control. Hey man, don't do this.<br /><br />The biggest problem I've seen so far, are allies that randomely go AFK near friendly towers. If you begin a game, then at least have the decency to actually play. I imagine, if told, these players would believe that /dance ing gives free experience. This is... a disgrace. I do imagine there are players like this, and this is the sort of thing that contributes to my lack of sleep, thinking of all the inhumane acts people commit.<br /><br />People need to understand that LoL is a game, and not to take it too seriously. We make mistakes all the time, but it's wrong to get mad at someone for one little thing, like over a lost game. I myself suffer from this to a degree.<br /><br />Yeah.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-52162154970281637932011-08-06T20:17:00.000-07:002011-08-06T20:23:48.892-07:00The Stanley ParableAs the title suggests, this is a story about a man called Stanley, in the form of a HL2 mod.<br /><br />This game is certainly interesting and appeals to a certain crowd. It's a short game that attempts to tell a story and explore some phsychological ideas. It presents real choices, and the player can pick whichever he wants. From the choices made, the player experiences one of six endings.<br /><br />The voicework is great, he has a soothing voice.<br /><br />There are a few problems with prop positioning, and replaying the game again to view a different ending is a bit tedious.<br /><br />What else can I say? It's a short game, worth your time checking it out at least once.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-90190289753693702702011-08-05T17:51:00.000-07:002011-08-05T17:51:32.035-07:00Gibbage goes free and the Humble Indie Bundle goes 11Remember the indie game studio named Zombie Cow and the two hilariousy brilliant side-scrollers, Ben There, Dan That and Time Gentleman, Please!, they realeased back in '09? Come to think of it, I don't know why I asked that question as if I were expecting an immidiate response from you, the reader, but hey, those are the facts nontheless.<br />
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In a rather not-so incredibly shocking turn of events, Zombie Cow have now renamed their studio to Size Five Games. The reason for the change is currently unknown, but what is known and frankly of more importance is the release of their newest game, Gibbage, for absolutely nothing. That's right, free! And you know what the best course of action to take on free materials is? Yup, to acquire on sight, post haste (except AIDS). The catch is that it's only so for this weekend. So don't delay, <a href="http://www.sizefivegames.com/2011/08/05/gibbage-free-to-play-this-weekend/">hit this underlined word</a> to start having yer' awesomely olde' side-scrolling action today. They've also made peep on their newest- newest project, The Swindler, but more on that in due time.<br />
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Also making news is the Indie Humble Bundle's ever increasing waist line. What they've done now is add last years bundle-o-games to this years, raising this years one to a total of 12 games and a Minecraft trial:<br />
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</style> <![endif]--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><em><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-style: normal;">Crayon Physics Deluxe, Cogs, VVVVVV, Hammerfight, And Yet It Moves, Steel Storm, Braid, Cortex Command, Revenge of the Titans, Machinarium, Atom Zombie Smasher and Osmos. Oh, and access to Minecraft until August 14th.</span></em></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><em style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-AU" style="font-style: normal;"> You may have all of this so long as you offer anything over the average HB3 payment of $5.37. You can make certain that the average will change, increasingthe value in the process, so you might want to get in there fast if you don't think you'll be able to purchase later on for a bit more than $6. It may not be pay-what-you-want aynmore, but if you're prepared to bitch and moan about getting these 12 titles for as little as $0.49 each, you can try eating a dick.</span></em><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-AU"></span></i></div><em></em><br />
If you already paid above the average for HB3, you should find you’ve been gifted the HB2 games too. Also, if you already have the HB2 and don't want to pay for them again (you could gift them and yourself look like a gentleman but what do I know), all you have to do is pay BELOW to average amount. Then you'll get everything that was initially in the HB3 (including Stell Storm and Atom Zombie Smasher).<br />
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Good games, asian-prostitute cheap and the proceeds go to charity. Fellow Globbers, you know what to do. Click <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">here</a> and be amazed at how much they've already raised. Wolfire, you have our utmost respects.Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-2808512963362810242011-08-04T05:49:00.000-07:002011-08-04T05:51:53.917-07:00Brink DLC: Agents of Change is Out NowFor those of you who have stuck by this year class-based shooter Brink despite it's shortcomings, here is some welcome news. As the title reads, the Agents of Change DLC is out now and ready to download at your leisure for $0.00 [read: free]. The '$0.00 [read: free]' part comes with a catch, however, as it is only so for the next two weeks. Then you'll have to pay money for it. And we all know how much you love doing that.<br />
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Agents of Change contains two all-new environments, five new player abilities, two new outfits, and two new weapon attachments. Now heres the previous sentence in dot-point form:<br />
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<i>New Maps</i><br />
<blockquote>Founders’ Tower – The revolution finally reaches the island’s iconic spire and takes the battle for the Ark to dizzying heights.<br />
Labs – Venture into the depths of the Ark’s original research and development laboratories, a submerged high-tech facility so far untouched by the civil war.</blockquote> <i>New Player Abilities</i><br />
<blockquote>UAV – This stealthy and lethal device allows Operatives to automatically mark nearby enemies on their radar. For more explosive fun, they can even take direct control of the UAV and detonate it near unsuspecting foes.<br />
Napalm Grenade – Soldiers can use this new grenade to cover an area in a sea of deadly flames.<br />
Pyro Mine – Engineers can plant these mines and leave enemies in the epicenter of a massive napalm explosion.<br />
Field Regen Unit – Medics can deploy these units to increase the health regeneration of any nearby teammates.<br />
Tactical Scanner – This universal ability allows players to reveal the active buffs of their opponents, allowing them to pick off enemies more strategically.</blockquote> <i>New Weapon Attachments</i><br />
<blockquote>Bayonets – Gain the edge in melee combat and cause extra damage with these deadly blades.<br />
Weapon Shields – Take cover from enemy fire and prevent headshot bonus damage behind riot-style shields.</blockquote> <i>New Character Outfits</i><br />
<blockquote>The Sad Punk – Add a touch of Steampunk to your Resistance character.<br />
The Limey [Nigga] – Bring order to the Ark with this outfit inspired by traditional European police lawmen.</blockquote>Quite swell if you ask me, but why it wasn't included in the game from the get-go and why you have to pay for it if you don't manage to acquire it within these two weeks is something I'll never understand.<br />
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No wait, I perfectly understand. LAZY, LIMEY SCUMBAGS BEING PATHETIC DEVELOPERS! <br />
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Here are some pictures of the maps included in the DLC so as to end on a less violent note. Lovely.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc6b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc6b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc5b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc5b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc3b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc3b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc4b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc2b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/images/11/aug/aoc/aoc1b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-89990667316257362702011-08-04T02:09:00.000-07:002011-08-04T04:49:24.094-07:00HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?Limbo is without a doubt a unique game. It is comprised of puzzle and platforming elements with a splash of horror. Everything in this game is shaded in black and white hues, with some film grain effects and eerie ambient music, maybe this is where some people found the horror in this game (lol). You play as a young boy who traverses through traps and obstacles to find your sister. Lacking in any kind of obvious story and narrative factors, you are left to your own devices in figuring out whats what.<br /><br />You're in a world where you're an insignificant insect and you are constantly reminded of this. The world is extremely depressive, with its art style and death animations.<br /><br />The gameplay is basically "trial and death". You will die. The point is, you learn from your mistakes and should be able to pass the obstacle easily once you find its trick. Yeah, about 70% of all deaths in the game are probably not your own fault, but the game is coo' (looks quite nice) enough so that you won't ragequit. Much. Probably.<br /><br />About the puzzling, the first half of the game contains ridiculously simple puzzles, getting more and more intricate the further you advance. From pushing and pulling items, you soon begin controlling gravity, dodging bullets and outrunning huge spiders and tribesmen. After most of the puzzles, you'll wonder how you ever got stuck on the part.<br /><br />The platforming is for the most part, easy. Your character floats towards ledges and makes grabbing them much easier. Towards the very end, the game pulls some dirty tricks on you, and you can try again and again to complete a certain puzzle, only to have luck screw you over. I despise having aspects of luck ruining your progress in a game, but I understand that luck is essential to most games. It may just be a ploy to extend the gameplay time, but there's nothing I can do about it. All I see it doing is promoting frustration.<br /><br />Horror. Scares. Some people claim this game is somewhat scary. Maybe if you have a severe case of arachnaphobia. If you find yourself leaking liquads during this game, then I can admit that I'm ashamed as a human being.<br /><br />The fun part of this, is that you can make whatever assumption you want. Take nothing for granted when playing this game.<br /><br />Unfortunately, all the fun stuff stop happening halfway through the game and replaced with constant puzzles until its abrupt end. It's quite dissapointing, since there are a few memorable sequences in the first half, and its almost like the level designer had a rebellion and crowned himself king of puzzles at the start of the second half.<br /><br />Is this game bad? No. Should this game be considered the messiah of modern-day platforming and puzzling? No. Should you play it? N-Yeah, sure.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-9296786828640795062011-08-01T23:31:00.000-07:002011-08-02T00:00:59.651-07:00Dino-D DayOr better known as everybody rush as Nazis to always make unbalanced teams. As far as most people are concerned, it seems that this game is only worth playing as the more dinosaur-prominent Nazi team.<br /><br />Did I hear unbalanced? That's pretty much the theme of this game. The Nazis have the most versatile and fun units while the Allies are stuck with one dinosaur that's worse than any the Nazis get and like 7 humans, only half of which actually do anything to win the game.<br /><br />Because of this, there are ALWAYS 2 more people on the Nazis team. I don't blame those people, but haven't any of you heard of good sportsmanship? Stick with your team instead of constantly team-shifting like a filthy whore hopping on different cock every minute.<br /><br />Speaking of unbalanced, the Nazis get a slow, but heavily armoured dinosaur capable of locking an entire team in their base. I kid you not, it takes a whole smg clip and two pistol clips to take one of these fuckers down (or two direct hit rocket launcher shots or 3 perfectly aimed grenades). Two of these armadillos will garantee a win in any match.<br /><br />But is the game unbalanced? The allies get this nigger called Nigel something who has a shotgun for his primary gun. What does this shotgun do? It doesn't. I've tried aiming the thing down a dinosaur's neck and pulling the trigger while paitently waiting to die, because the dinosaur bit my dick off after not even getting hurt.<br /><br />He's not even the worst. There's this panzy called Hardgrave. He has the worst weapons ever. A rifle that is hard to aim when a dinosaur is tearing your ass and impossible to mannyly reload, and a pistol. Assuming you're some kind of gaming god and can stack up to 3 kills with him, you can make him get all angry and invincible, killing all enemies with one punch each. Then he's pretty ok.<br /><br />Another huge issue with this game is that nobody seems to understand what a game mode is. You get kiddies running around trying to snipe some kills while the enemy is capping their point. I've had many situations where I've cleared out a whole area of enemies only to be sniped. Surely my allies will easily cap the poin- Oh, nevermind, none of them are even in sight of the darn thing. I've gone velociraptor (the unit with the least health) and capped the point without any enemies interfering. None of the enemy made any move to retake the point at all. It's saddening really. Get your priorities straight.<br /><br />Is this game worth the five dollars? Yeah, you can easily get that much fun out of it. If we're lucky, the developer might even start fixing the game to make it even the slightest amount balanced. Then he can take my money.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-56023852954521786272011-07-27T04:15:00.000-07:002011-07-27T04:15:28.407-07:00The Humble Indie Bundle: Round 3Come one, come all to one of the best moments of our gaming year. Yes children of all ages, it is that time again where the good folks at Wolfire offer us greedy bunch a bundle of excellent indie games for one distinct price: $4,048.00.<br />
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Now obviously that's not really how much it costs, but it's what Minecraft creator 'notch' coughed up. Why, you ask? Because he could. <br />
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The other reason why though is also the reason why The Bundle has become sysnomymus with gamers across the world: You pay what you want. Oh, and the proceeds go to charity. With a combined value of $50 if you were to purchase everything separately at standard prices, it's possible to acquire these titles for a measly cent. You can pay more though, if you like. But you won't...you desirous bastards.<br />
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Without further a due, here are the games on offer:<br />
<ul><li>Crayon Physics Deluxe </li>
<li>Cogs </li>
<li>Hammerfight </li>
<li>VVVVVV </li>
<li>And Yet It Moves </li>
</ul><br />
Brilliant titles at an equally brilliant price. Since I'm a straight up 'bawler', I went ahead and gave 100 of my money, all of it to the charity. You can adjust who gets how much of the proceeds, so depending on your mood, you can give a generous tip to Wolfire for hosting the Bundle or to the developers of the games. Or shar the love equally. Whoever you choose is just as deserving.<br />
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For details, go <a href="http://www.humblebundle.com/">here</a>.<br />
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To see advertisement done awesome, click play;<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/E4c6PWtE9mI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-59597505267414698882011-07-09T01:09:00.000-07:002011-07-09T01:24:12.367-07:00Limbo (finally) Jumps PlatformsThe good people over at Limbo have finally decided to release their side-srolling adventure on the PC and PS3 on August 2 and July 19/20th respectively.<br />
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If you still havn't experienced one of the most atmospherically terrifying titles to grace gaming, you should do so post-haste. Except if you're the squeamish type.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y4HSyVXKYz8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-2292861915015351602011-06-14T22:50:00.000-07:002011-06-14T23:31:54.881-07:00Le BlackLA Noire is a game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games in which you control Cole Phelps and solve a few cases in the Los Angeles of 1947. This game encompasses gunfights, fist fights, car chases, witness questioning and suspect interrogations.<br /><br />First off, let me tell you a story about this game. There was a murder case in which a woman was brutally slain in the school car park. A bloody tire iron was found to be the murder weapon. A bloody rope wich was tied around the victim's neck was found. A bloody mechanic's suit was found with the initials of the husband on the front of it, all in the victims car. When going to investigate the husband, the daighter tells us that he is a violent man.<br /><br />The husband confirms that he is a mechanic and great at tying knots in ropes. It is also revealed that he has absolutely no solid alibi. When leaving the house I notice that he's burning something in the incinerator, bloody boots, the size of which matches the size of the boots used in the crime scene. I lock him up and he's taken to Police HQ. The neighbour tells us the husband and victim had an argument right before she left to die.<br /><br />I go to investigate the school's car park and meet a pedophile sneaking around. It is revealed that he has the brooch of the victim in one of his pockets. He claims that he found it around where the crime occurred. He gets taken to Police HQ.<br /><br />Upon arriving at the Police HQ, the captain tells us that he's well acquanted with the pedophile and gives us the choice to interrogate and lay the blame on whoever we want. He then goes to say that whatever our choice, he'll interrogate the pedophile and ensure he gets jailed for as long as possible.<br /><br />I interrogate the husband to find his explanation for burning his boots and all the evidence against him. He goes on shouting how he'd never hurt his wife and that he was burning the boots because we wouldn't understand. That's his explanation. I choose to charge him with murder and get yelled at for it. The captain explains that he's going to demote me and my partner. Why? Because we left the child as an orphan to live with her auntie instead of her murderous dad.<br /><br />I am dead serious, this is basically what happened in one of the murder cases. Thank you for giving us a choice and blowing it Team Bondi, I won't forget this.<br /><br />Aside from this, this game is absolutely chock full of glitches and bugs. Several times when attempting to run through a door, Cole decided to run up the building to come down from the other side. And my partner, whoever it is at the time has serious issues with getting into the car with me. I once had to get out and hijack some other person's car so he would actually get in.<br /><br />Aside from that the voice acting in this game is absolutely ace. That's one thing that's good about it. Great game.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-75596098142544810852011-06-07T06:29:00.000-07:002011-06-07T06:29:26.938-07:00E3 BlowoutIt's the first day of E3 2011 and boy were there a lot of suprises. Yes, it's that glorious time of the year for us gamers get to see what's new, what was old but is being made new, and the new that just never seems to want to see the light of day (Screw you Gabe).<br />
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After viewing much of the individual press-conferences, it's safe to say that the industry really is beginning to show it's dedication in developing triple A titles that aren't an attempt at merely shutting us up and taking our money (AHEM Bioshock 2 AHEM).<br />
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The biggest shock was probably the reveal of Far Cry 3, with a body-load of details and footage emerging. If the interview and gameplay demo are anything to go by, it seems we'll be returning to the original tropical island from Far Cry, with the AI toned down, the weapon degredation gone and wildlife we will be forced to 'deal with'. Oh and very pretty visuals.<br />
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Some have argued this shift in focus has reuslted in the game seeming 'too pedestrian', but from what the footage below shows, it's anything but. Keep an eye on this one.<br />
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Battlefield 3 made quite a positive impression with its engaging 'tank gameplay' and short multiplayer teaser. The main (and arguably, only) contender to Call of Dutys throne as the best shooter sets to deliver what we've come to love the series for: epic-scale online manshooting. With a new Frostbite 2.0 engine behind it's back it's looking quite the part. Coupled with it's massed, non-scripted battles, it just may (though no way in sales) be a much more technically fun shooter than it's arch rival.<br />
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Another title worth mentioning is the new Assasins Creed. Dubbed 'Revelations', the CG trailer with it's gameplay footage is set to continue the story of Ezio [insert rest of name here]. Shifting the geographic foucs to include Constantinople, it seems ready to give us more of what we want; an epic story with parkour and double throat stabs.<br />
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Theres a whole lot more to this years E3 then I'm letting on (we still havn't mentioned the new Hitman, reboot of Lara Croft and the ever intriguing Twisted Metal). More news on these and the rest as we get it (or, more conviniently, you can go to Gametrailers or something, but please, do tell your friends of this place).<br />
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Merry E3 guys! Stay tuned for much more.Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-20779740934408255862011-06-06T02:52:00.000-07:002011-06-06T23:32:33.233-07:00Shocking PhilosophyToday, I'll be reviewing the Playstation 3 exclusive inFAMOUS 2, developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Firstly, let me say that I've played this game in the evil karmic fashion and will be describing my thoughts on the game in this respect. I will try to limit the spoilers in there, but there may be some info on the game here and there if I cannot help it.<br /><br />For some backstory: Cole MacGrath faces the Beast at the very beginning of inFAMOUS 2, and finds that he is not nearly strong enough to beat him. He flees to New Marais, the original place of developement of the ray sphere. Here he attempts to maximise the strength of his powers and waits for the arrival of the Beast. Cole can fight for the respect of the humble civillians of New Marais or terrorize them until they see him as the embodiment of death.<br /><br />Firsty, the grafics of this game are extraordinary. Electricity will jump through the air between metallic objects and ripple through water beautifully and realistically. If grafics was the only aspect of the game that was developed, it would still make for a good game.<br /><br />I was fearful at first that the choice that you have in being good or evil will negatively impact the game. I am happy to admit that I was wrong and there is a distinction between good and evil. Not only is the colour of the electricity turned to red if you're evil, but the environment, character interactions and powers are significantly altered.<br /><br />The character developement in this game is amazing. With Zeke's betrayal in the previous game, he is filled with regret and does everything he can to make it up to Cole. He becomes the person that Cole can rely on in even the most dire of situations. Cole does act rather coldly in the beginning of the game, but feels Zeke's remorse and decides to forget about what Zeke did to him. During the end, it feels just like old times between the two.<br /><br />Cole's two female friends are the personifications of good and evil. Kuo is the NSA agent, wielding ice powers, always ready to make sacrifices to minimise civillian casualties. Nix is the deviant demon, wielding fire powers, always ready to have some fun and enjoy some grand explosions.<br /><br />There are some neutral powers that can be unlocked by both good and evil Cole, but the majority can only be unlocked if you're at that specific karmic level. For example, good people get some ice powers, evil people get fire powers. Good people get a rapid shooting electricity attack, evil people get to launch a cut of electricity that deals AOE damage.<br /><br />Instead of the power upgrading in the first inFAMOUS, the upgrade system has been redesigned. Instead of giving you basic skills and you upgrading them, you choose a variety of different attacks, each has its advantages and disadvantages and should be used in different circumstances. You can setup your electric powers on the go to suit any situation.<br /><br />Depending on whether you're good or evil, you can accomplish missions in two different ways. For example, you can ride a train packed with explosives through a building, killing everyone in the process, or release some trapped police veterans who can assist you on your quest. The choice is entirely up to you.<br /><br />This game is composed of 40 main story missions, all varying enough to keep you entertained. Different aspects of gameplay are changed throughout and this keeps you on your toes, not knowing what to expect. It has a fuckawesome plot and really builds on the foundations that the previous installment has set. The ending of this game almost made me cry. It broke my heart to see what happened, and if you play this game, you'll understand why.<br /><br />This game serves up 3 main classes of enemies with various miniclasses to keep you entertained. You are given the Militia. An organisation formed by Bertrand to keep the Swamp monsters at bay and enforce local law and order. You are given the Corrupted. Swap monsters at the edge of town attempting to cut through the defenses at get at the juicy civillians. You are given the Forced Conduits. Mercanaries that have been tortured and forced powers upon. They are unleashed upon the world and make their own organisation, going berserk and attempting to kill everyone.<br /><br />The only flaw that this game has is the camera. When engaging in melee combat it will randomely decide to go into a wall, obscuring your view of the camera. This hasn't led to any of my deaths personally, but I can see how this rare bug can cause you to fail a mission entirely.<br /><br />This game balances the fight between good and evil perfectly and understands how to keep gamers entertained by providing a new experience every mission. Gamers feel and understand what the characters in this game are going through, and empathise with them. I pity xbros, for this is an almost flawless gem of a game that is just out of their reach.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-52464583230951285332011-05-24T00:15:00.000-07:002011-05-31T01:45:21.155-07:00Cool Fable 3 BroGreetings top hats, I'm here to inform you of and review Fable 3, a title that has been until recently an xbox 360 exclusive. Developer Lionhead Studios has released this video game onto computers, and so it has found its way into my hands.<br /><br />The grafics of this game are pretty good, and yet do not need a very good grafics card to run. My only quibble is when characters talk to you. When addressing you, they don't look at you, their eyes are set upon a psychological hell that exists in a particular wall. This psychological hell's location changes as characters are placed in new environments or randomely sometimes. The only place the psychological hell stays away from is the main character's face, which is precisely the only place it should be.<br /><br />There aren't any awe-inspiring moments in the game, nothing that makes you exclaim "ooh" or "ah". It has come to my attention that recent games have been missing this factor entirely. A game needs to give you something that helps you remember it.<br /><br />During missions where you get your faithful companion's help in fights, they seem quite the chatty Bettys. Their longest silence during a fight is about 5 seconds and they love to goad the 50 or so enemies waiting to beat their invincible ass down. There's a time to talk and a time to shut up. Fable 3 needs to learn this.<br /><br />Fable 3 also needs to learn that people over the age of 8 play this. During a whole run through of the game, I have literally not died. If you don't understand the gruesome prospect of the FAILURE screen after a game, let alone never even seeing it, there is a huge problem here. Need to raise that difficulty bar a lot higher Fable 3.<br /><br />The AI for your dog needs to be upgraded. For example, it would point out the whereabouts of hidden treasure. It runs over to where the buried treasure is and slowly and slowly and slowly comes to a stop while I'm already at the burial site waiting for the dog to stop so I can dig up the potion that I've always wanted. Instead of waiting I get up then make myself some nice tea and biscuits, and when I'm finally done the dog should have stopped. Hopefully.<br /><br />Now the ending is what really gets on my nerves. You need 6.5 million gold and to aqcuire this money you have to do the devil's will. To save your kingdom. If you're evil you put your people through one year of hardship so that you can get the required currency to fight the sludge thing off. If you're a good then you make picnics and hapiness for everyone for about a year, then they'll all die. Sounds good to me.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-72328228063388873812011-05-18T02:02:00.000-07:002011-05-18T02:32:45.999-07:00Portal 2 Review V2Hello everyone, this is the new and improved review for the critically acclaimed Portal 2, developed by Valve. I've gotten this game thinking it would be full of humour, many characters, a FPS and that it wouldn't have day one DLC. In today's society, you don't ever really know what you're buying anymore until you've tried it, and this is shown in Portal 2.<br /><br />For an FPS game, you'd expect a multitude of guns, that you know, shoot bullets. Apparently first person shooters don't need guns to fit into that genre anymore. You are instead equipped with a portal device that shoots uh... holes. The objective of the game is to walk through these holes and make it to the next room by putting a box on a big red button. I wish I were kidding, but this is all there is to this game.<br /><br />The rooms you walk into are white and grey and black. As we all know, good graphics make good games, and based on this equation, Portal 2 would rate very low indeed. There are no beautiful scenes, instead Valve rearranged rooms from Portal (1) hoping that we wouldn't notice that there was no improvement on general graphics. Sure, there's a random plant growing right in the middle of the sea of white and grey and black, but other than that, the rooms from both Portals look exactly the same.<br /><br />Talking about the rooms and such, let's talk about the metaphorical corridors of linearity. Valve hands you your portal device, an instruction manual for how you're to go about first person shooting for that particular room, and hey, you complete your objective. There is only one solution for each room that you enter, and Valve makes sure they hold your hand tight in case you start getting creative.<br /><br />There are a total of 3 characters in this fps, two of which are robots. Seems like some organisation is getting lazy to me. You'd think that these characters would spout out some wit to dull the sense of linear progression that this game provides. Instead you're stuck with a mute and two robots who buzz idiocy into your ear to make you more stupid, so maybe you won't notice how much of a bad game this is. Their supposed humour would affect children and very primitive adults.<br /><br />These robots also act as a kind of mouthpiece for TELLING you the story. They are so fucking annoying. They are useless and have no purpose. Show me the story, I want to experience a game, not a novel.<br /><br />The sound is pretty average.<br /><br />Day one DLC. Literally, things that could have been put into a game very easily, and an inexcusable attempt at a grab for your loyal customer's money. You may tell yourself that this DLC has no impact on the game at all, but that is absolutely false. A story isn't required in a game either, but companys still provice you with one to complete the game. Not giving out skins to pimp your robots defies customisation and the gamer's need to feel as if he's in the game. It's called immersion, a word that Valve should check the meaning of.<br /><br />With all the praise that this game has been getting, I was expecting some actual fun instead of repetetive boredom, however, this game has once again proved that the internet is full of dimwits who follow at Valve's feet and hastily eat all the shit that they hand out once every 2 years. Portal 2 is perfect and has no flaws, and I have the ability to use my balls as a hot air balloon and zip around the planet saving African people from starvation.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-87791026315878276402011-05-13T19:19:00.001-07:002011-05-18T02:51:12.710-07:00Portal 2 Review<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Ah Valve. What a sneaky company they are. It seems as if they'll do just about anything to stall the 'within months of the release of Episode 2', Half-Life 2 Episode 3. Heck, they went as far as coming up with new IP's. As much as this aggravates the die-hard fans ( WASSUP) of what has been regarded as 'The best game ever made', however, said new games Valve has cooked up have been just as good and memorable. Scratch that, they've been absolutely sublime. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The original Portal included within the Orange Box has undoubtedly been the biggest surprise this generation has seen (in terms of gaming, ofcourse). Probably an apology for the duly overdue Half-Life Episode 2 and the 99 years in development Team Fortress 2, no one could have foreseen the three-hour experiment by a bunch of fresh graduates to have become the critically acclaimed and meme spawning extravaganza it is today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> Portals, brilliant puzzles, just as good level designs and, most importantly, Glados, a homicidal AI overseer who has a rather poisonous affection for choking people in neuron toxin, coupled with her un-sarcastic, deadpan humour, earned it the most gracious of titles any game could hope to achieve. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Enter Portal 2, the now cake-less reason for man's existence. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Aperture science is in ruins following the ending of Portal, but thanks to an altered ending, and a rather intriguing comic based back-story involving the lovably insane Ratman, Chell finds herself once again within it's confines. It's not long before Wheatley, a neurotic personality core responsible for the welfare of Aperture's human test subjects comes for a visit. His ultimate aim becomes to help Chell escape, but Glados just so happens to awake again. You know...after you murdered her?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">It's the script of Portal 2 that once again makes it standout. Not only is it the funniest game out there, but it also features some of the best character development seen in any form of interactive entertainment. Marvel at just how much both Glados and Wheatley grow as you inch your way closer to the end, with the history of Aperture Science serving as a compelling sub-story that has been both perfectly created and presented.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Story now it's main focus, one my fret that the puzzles have taken a backseat. That my friends, is where you are a wrong. Sure, the game is full of truly epic moments and thrilling chase sequences, all topped off by brilliant songs and sounds, but it doesn't necessarily result in another aspect suffering. Afterall, Portal just wouldn't be Portal if it wasn't for it's mind bending noodle-scratchers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">With the re-introduction of the much loved Portal gun, a device which shoots linked 'gateway's allowing you to pass, jump, fly, crawl or die through one end and out the other, a plethora of new additions make their selves present to create more mind numbing moments. The most fun of these new additions are without a doubt the gels that play around with the physics of the game. The blue repulsion gel turns any surface into a trampoline, enabling players to jump to new heights or cross large distances by bouncing of walls. The orange propulsion gel speeds up players who run allowing, allowing them to build up high momentum and soar across large gap, or crash into walls and die miserably. Finally, the white conversion gel turns any surface into a portal-able one, giving you access to places on though impossible. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Other inventions consist of thermal discouragement cubes that bend laser into designated points, aerial faith plates that catapult players to high altitudes, gravity beams that trap objects and slowly transport both players and items through the air and, finally, the hard light bridge, which acts as both a shields against the turrets and create bridges to walk across.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> Everything introduced in Portal 2 serves a purpose, the main one being creating absolute fun. You will lose count of just how many times you will walk into a new chamber, see what's usable and let your imagination run a riot, coming up with more than one solution to some of the puzzles, as well as create some hilarious moments (especially in co-op, but more on that later). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">There will be times where you die repeatedly, as well as moments where you think a particular puzzle is impossible. But just when you're about to give up, you have 'Eureka!' moment, watching your devious plan unfold and reach the exit elevator, giving you a sense of accomplishment unattainable anywhere else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The main campaigns length is about double that of Portal, maybe longer if you get stuck or decide to replay it. It's an endearing experience that will refuse to leave your mind, going as far as to create those 'watercooler' moments, discussing with Portal fans and complete strangers alike about the hilarious characters, the genius puzzles and the co-op.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Yes, you heard right folks, co-op. As if the single-player wasn't memorable enough, Valve has gone out of its way to create what is essentially one of the best cooperative experiences available. Continuing after the end of the story, players are put in the roles of Atlas and P-Body, two ridiculously charming robots specifically built to satisfy Glados' never fading urge to complete tests. Two players means four portals, which in return mean more insane puzzles that are arguably better than the ones featured in the campaign.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">As mentioned, going through co-op creates for some insanely rewarding challenges and oh, so many laughs. You try and not smile after you purposely send your buddy flying toward the base of a crusher, watching their every bolt fly apart as the spiked plates turn them into well-slammed-steaks. But its that moment when the answer hits you and your partner and you excitedly work together to make theory into practise, allowing you to achieve your ultimate goal that words fall short of describing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Valve has done a great job of making sure players can always communicate their feelings in the games. There's an in-game countdown timer, allowing for synchronised actions by the duet, and a pointer that clearly marks where in a level they'd like their friends to stand, place a portal or simply look toward. In addition, the two robots can perform, various adorable gestures, such as waving , hugging and dancing. Not only is it cute to watch, the unimpressed commentary make it doubly rewarding.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Portal 2 still uses the source engine yet still manages to look a million bucks. Elegant simplicity is the best way to describe it, with it's art direction adding to the creative brilliance of the series. Sure, there are more load times then ought to be, but it's a one of the only minor quibbles that are fast forgotten about. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">As a last note, it would be wrong to not mention the outstanding vocal performances. Ellen McCain returns as Glados and wonderfully brings back the uninterested and uncaring sociopath AI we've learnt to love. Stephen Merchant, possibly one of the most underrated actors, almost, if not completely, upstages McCain and effortlessly turns Wheatley into an affable, hilarious character who you can't help but not like. And when you realize J.K. Simmons is actually Cave Johnson, you almost find it impossible to comprehend the dedication Valve has for perfecting what it does best.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Put simply, Portal 2 is one of the best games ever made. It seamlessly blends puzzle and adventure elements together, but also makes itself known as one of the very few comedy games, where witty dialog and laugh-out-loud concepts have been given an equal billing with the gameplay itself. It's funny, challenging, inventive and boasts more memorable moments then most triple a titles out there, moments that will stick with you for a really, really long time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Now if Valve could hurry up and learn how to count to three...</span></div>Haggarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08270896767521900498noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-18952479015747814042011-05-06T23:48:00.001-07:002011-05-07T00:41:17.423-07:00Musket MadnessMountain Blade: Musket Madness is a medieval rpg/shooter developed by indie TaleWorlds Entertainment. It is indeed a pc exclusive, and comes and a relatively cheap price.<br /><br />The single-player campaign revolves around recruiting soldiers and building an army to see them all whiped out in a 15 minute skirmish. The pace is as slow as can be. Character development? Story? Fun? These features are non-existent in the single-player mode of Mountain Blade: Musket Madness. Mountain Blade: Musket Madness must require alot of time before it starts to get fun, kind of like World of Warcraft. If you're the sort of guy who'd like his bawls gripped tightly in a glove made of knives for a whole day for 15 minutes of sex right at the end then go ahead and buy Mountain Blade: Musket Madness.<br /><br />In the multiplayer mode, the character development, pacing and fun issues are far less noticeable. Mountain Blade: Musket Madness becomes a medieval shooter abomination. Picking a sword over a gun is like bringing a sword to a gun fight. You might think this is pretty cool, but TaleWorlds Entertainment is still going for the medieval feel, making reloading times exceptionally long. Guns are often one-hit-kill on top. This forces players to camp or face the squad of musketeers sensible enough to fight behind cover. I've rarely seen a match where one side actually wins. It seems infantry have lost the ability to wield shields while cavalry can choose between bows, shields, guns, lances, horses, two handed swords and one handed sword. Infantry get spears and some kinds of infantry can get the weakest type of gun. Again this reveals TaleWorlds Entertainment's hunger for camping. Infantry can no longer push the front line as they could with Warband.<br /><br />Why are there grenades in Mountain Blade: Musket Madness? It's kinda like someone randomely had the insight that there were no cool explody weapons. Well, because of this person's miraculous idea, griefers can kill 5 of their temmates every round on average. I've rarely been in a match where there weren't two griefers on each side. Then I noticed that there's a vote-kick feature. Oh cool I thought, maybe now I can start having fun. The griefers came back as long as it took to reconnect to the server, about twenty seconds. There is no punishment for griefing in Mountain Blade: Musket Madness, and TaleWorlds has made their job so much easier.<br /><br />If there was a game that had literally no polish at all it would be Mountain Blade: Musket Madness. There are glitches and general animation monstrosities everywhere. Trees and haystacks can be walked through and attempting to jump up a steep anything will result in your character genuinely flying for a moment or two. Wakling while holding a pistol has the same hand animations as walking while holding a rifle, your character's left had clutching where a rifle barrel should be. Reloading makes it seem like your character is breaking his bones with his mind and then superglueing the pieces back together again. Good as new. Also, character's faces are set in stone, and they look like they've been savagely raped by a wild pack of angry bulls.<br /><br />Only get Mountain Blade: Musket Madness if you have a medium-large group of IRL/internet friends. Mountain Blade: Musket Madness without restrictions is a cheese fest. Set rules to follow in a server of your own or go apeshit in a public server. If you can avoid where the griefers throw grenades, you may savour a small taste of fun.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-19165155736766193012011-05-06T02:52:00.000-07:002011-05-06T03:22:50.623-07:00Darkness hides you and your nightmaresSince the release of the pc game exclusive, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the internet has been sleepless in night terrors. This is a survival-horror game from indie developer Frictional Games.<br /><br />You are Daniel, a man with no memories who has awoken in a dark and shadowy castle. The only remainder of your now forgotten past, is a letter imploring you to not seek lost memories. What could be so horrifying that only amnesia can save you from insanity? You will find out, if you can survive the nerve-wracking experience that this game provides. Don't get me wrong, this game has a pretty bad story, but that isn't one of its strong points.<br /><br />Why is this game so horrifying? There are a few answers to that. My favourite would be that there are no weapons. No pots, no pans, no knives, no guns. This game truly delivers what its genre suggests. You experience horror and survive. There is no facing and defeating your fears here. You have no power. In this way, this game mirrors that of a nightmare. You are helpless there too.<br /><br />You run from your enemies and hope with all your heart that they don't find you. They look so derranged, that I become paranoid that there's a monster around every corner, behind every door, sneaking around you. Where can you run? You run to the shadows, so only your very close surroundings can be seen. If the monsters spot you, you are going to have a very nice surprise.<br /><br />There is a sanity meter, whenever you glance at a monster for too long or stay in the considerably safer darkness for too long, you become insane, slowly but surely. Should that meter fill, any monsters in the vicinity will be alerted to your presence and you will be immobilised for a while. You are given a lantern with poor amounts of oil. You will learn to treasure oil and only use it in the most dire of circumstances. However safe you'd think using a lantern is, it makes you a beacon for any monster you are trying to escape from.<br /><br />Immersion is the most important aspect in this game. You aren't playing this game, you are running for your life. This is done by using a unique click-and-drag mouse system that optimises interactivity. For example, to open a door, you have to grip the door handle and swing back as you move your character back to stop the door from bumping into you. This process becomes so much longer and urgent with a monster on your tail and fear will take hold. One slip and you're finished.<br /><br />Music and sound is just as important as the mouse system in this game in terms of immersion. Very fast music plays when the game spawns a monster somewhere in the vicinity. The music doesn't stop when the monster disappears, it stops when you finally take the risk to come out of your hole and look around. People find themselves unable to advance any further because of this.<br /><br />Looking for a new pc game and a horror to be reckoned with? Look no further, this game will provide just the change of pace you need. If there is one developer on this planet that deserves your well earned money, it's Frictional Games. They need money to produce games like this. There is a demo available for those of you who aren't sure, but I haven't tried it and don't know how it differs from the actual game.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400249141789778589.post-23374386292430054032011-05-05T05:01:00.001-07:002011-05-06T02:51:56.076-07:00You don't have the gutsHello everyone, as my introductory post I will be reviewing the videogame Mortal Kombat (9). This game is a multiplatform fighter for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, created by the new NetherRealm Studios (formerly Midway).<br /><br />The plot begins right after the events of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, all the fighters are dead other than Raiden and Shao Khan. In the last moments of his life, Raiden uses his powerful amulet, given to him as a gift from the elder gods, to transmit a series of visions and a message, "He must win", to the past Raiden.<br /><br />The setting goes back in time to the original Mortal Kombat tournament, hosted by Shang Tsung. Should the victor be a defender of Earthrealm, then Earthrealm will be safe for a considerable time. Should the victor be a champion of Outworld, then Earthrealm will be consumed by Outworld and turned into a monstrous place with its residents brutally slain. Raiden, now possessing his future self's visions, looks to Liu Kang. Could he be the one who must win?<br /><br />The story for this game is unique to fighters in that it has an actual narrative. There is a story behind this game, and it's a damn good one. The story consists of a plethora of one versus one or two fights with cutscenes in between showing how the fights themselves came to occur. You progress through 16 chapters in all, playing as a different character in each one and experiencing the background as to how the fighters came to solving their conundrums in a gentlemanly fashion. This story is as good as it's gonna get in relevance to the fighter genre.<br /><br />Playing through the arcade and defeating Shao Khan and various other fighters with fighters unlocks snippets of what happens to the character after defeating Shao Khan. What happens to each fighter is unique as to what happens to every other fighter. The results were very surprising and very interesting. Unlock these videos, it's worth it.<br /><br />The challenge tower is a... well a tower of challenges to complete. The challenges are both fun and unique and can frustrate even the most calm of people. There's a challenge where you even get to play as Goro. Challenges include things like Test Your Might, Test Your Sight, Test Your Luck and Test Your Strike. Go check it out.<br /><br />The Krypt is a literal graveyard full of unlocks that can be purchased with ingame money, acquired via playing the story, the arcade and the challenge tower. Unlocks include alternate skins, concept art, music and fatalities. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The klassic skins and fatalities cannot be unlocked in the Krypt.</span> This is a place for spending your hours of dedication to this game and being rewarded for it and for your luck. Beware of the Krypt, I've heard rumours of a demon who lurks waiting for those who spend too long in the Krypt...<br /><br />The fighting system is that of limb-based combat, in that each button controls a limb. In this way, combos can be pulled off fluidly and opponents' mistakes swiftly punished. Combat occurs in a 3d environment, albeit on a 2d plane, to make fighting much more simple and clean. Wounds appear on the fighters slowly as their hp bar depletes and soon the floor is drenched in blood. Projectiles such as acid and fluids such as blood and oil can also appear on fighters, depending on which fighters are used (Reptile, Sektor, Cyrax). There is a bar that fills as damage is taken and dealt and when filled, can be used to perform an x-ray move. When performed, an animation occurs in which the fighter performing the x-ray move breaks various bones and/or organs of his opponent. Fatalities can also occur, in which the victor of a fight can mutilate the barely concious body of his opponent, sometimes claiming a body part as a sort of trophy.<br /><br />This game is brutal and sadistic and will amaze and disgust all those who play it. It's no wonder this game is banned in Australia, and I can understand why. Get this game, it is a unique gem of a fighter. It truly reveals videogames' capacity to both disgust and amaze all people who experience this.Stylisedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847893564963702634noreply@blogger.com0