http://www.adventtrilogy.com/
I grabbed this off Steam for the PC the other day for $19.99 and was pleasantly surprised - I remember when it first come out on the Xbox and I toyed with the idea of buying it then, but wasn't sure.
It's like a 3rd person Halo-esque adventure that has Jedi style powers thrown in. The FMV is well done, although a bit flaky in the delivery at times, the audio stutters a bit, and the lipsync seems to be slightly out, but the story unfolds at a rapid pace and is an interesting and adult sort of sci fi yarn. It has Orson Scott Cards backing, since he scripted it, so that puts it above the usual european sci fi bullshit that rolls out from the likes of Jowood. The FMV does suffer from the "I'm from an Xbox" syndrome, similar to the recently re-leased Jade Empire special edition. But the in-game graphics are suitably sharp and sweet. Control with a keyboard can get a bit awkward at times, but mainly in the acrobatics area, the combat running and gunning is standard WASD and mouse look fare.
There are some nice set pieces, with space ships crumbling beneath you, and the action is always frantic. Nice array of weapons on offer, and duel wielding is standard from the off. When you begin to develop force like skills, such as lift, push and pull, things get very interesting. Later you develop shielding and blast force skills too. Stealing weapon skills etc. The combo of arms and force skills does seem to give you plenty of options when it comes to the boss fights, but the majority of the normal combat sees you usually adopt your favourite techniques and stick with them. Plenty of buggy and tank driving in there too. If you want you can flick to 1st person perspective, but I found it much more cinematic and natural in 3rd person.
Drawn in by it really, mainly the story, the alien lifeforms you meet and the immediacy of the action. Suprised it was very much overlooked, but then again, parts of it are a little flaky in places. Staggering about when trying to negotiate ledges etc. Very nice art direction, very cinematically put together. They did plan a trilogy, with a game on the PSP too, but sadly, it didn't receive the attention and it all went bad I think. Apparently the PC version is a bit more bug free and spruced up compared with the original Xbox version.
If you like Halo'ey action, it could be worth a butchers.
Wednesday 28 March 2007
Monday 19 March 2007
Lord of the Rings Online
Well, initially disappointed in it, I've started to warm to it again. Second beta client in.
Graphically, they've gone a bit too astray from the Peter Jackson vision we all know and love. The world is a bit too cartoony. A bit too colourful and 'feathered cap' for my liking. Where is the gritty mud soaked realism Wingnut films threw at us in 3 hour chunks? With Dungeons and Dragons Online login/update mechanism reskinned, the entrance to the LOTRO client is a bit too familiar. When you're in there, waves of deja vu wash over you, whispering Guild Wars and Asherons Call in your shell like. The world is well crafted, with some areas showing off sights to be dumb struck at, but mostly, you get the feeling, that this isn't the MMO of the film of the book.
The initial quests you are thrust into are simplistic, but flavoured enough in LOTR lore, for LOTR fans to be swept up in joining Elrond in battle, or seeing Gandalf and Gimli. As tutorial quests they do give you basics in a nicely presented way, although they get a bit tedious if you're on them for the 5th time (rolling different characters). Then you have a mini-area to play in and get your feet. Similar to Guild Wars, you get a tight knit area to run some quests and cut your teeth, with the skill progression, and the beginnings of your character tweaking. Once you've eeked out all quests and you've camped one or two bosses, with plenty of others, you get to run through another storied instance into the bigger world of Middle Earth.
You're more or less plonked into this without explanation. And the subtleties of the game are gleaned by plenty of chit and chat on the /ooc channel, or a brief search on the web for info-packed fan sites. The player achievements are very welcome, and you gain traits and skills and increases in your damage as you level up.
The combat is good in that many of the special skills you posses act in chains, so that you are always planning a chain to lay down on the enemy. Keeping you interested, and not just mindlessly mashing buttons. However, some of the melee combat is a bit weak willed. Doesn't feel satisfying. And the combat animations (as well as most of the player animations) feel awkward, mistimed and gangly. Since I played an archer (Elven, from Mirkwood, obviously!), there is satisfaction in coupling a double shot, with a barbed shot, which them adds a damage multiplier to a melee hit when they come up close and personal. Plus you have traps (which lay invisibly), with which to hold your pray and get another shot off at them. It may sound like the combat is rubbish, but its not, its just animated a bit rubbish. The combat actually works well, and the combinations you can lay down do always keep you in the action, especially with the variability of misses, evades and blocks coming into play. If only I could duel wield earlier than level 20, I'd have my Legolas clone with big daggers from the films. I do however have an attack that jabs the enemy in the face with an arrow. A personal favourite of mine.
I must say, I've found the LOTRO community to be about as hostile as you can get. Not Neocron hostile, but Guild Wars hostile. Theres a lot of trouble with having a multi-laguage server, being inundated with reams of french or german doesn't help sift the info. Also, asking questions rarely gets an answer, and forming fellowships (teams, parties) seems to be against most players religion. Being in a ravine full of players as well as menacing orcs, and then being jumped by three of orcs instead of the planned one, you'd expect the player populace to help out a bit. After all, you've spent some time plinking your mirkwood arrows into their beasts to help them out with adds. But no. They'll happily let you die. Some, will exploit the aggro of a helper, so that you help them with the damage, and attract the beasts attention, then they'll happily wander off to let you deal with it, and they'll take the experience reward and come back for the loot too.
I do like the idea that you kill animals in the field for their skins and bones to craft stuff from, rather than just because we needed something to kill. All your quarry seems fairly natural for the area. And a hunter, does indeed feel like they're hunting for their wellbeing, and not just because we need to kill x of y.
Lets try and summarise everything, I like the setting, that goes without saying. I'm not massively keen on the overly colourful rendering of it, but some areas I've seen are really well built (The Shire for instance), the characters are semi-realistic, but with a cartoon bent that Asherons Call suffered from, long before the WoW machine with its "art direction" come on the scene. The combat system seems satisfying enough, if only it was animated better to provide a bit more feedback. The crafting system seems to follow current convention, but its heirarchy and hopefully accessibility will remain to all, and not just the dedicated few. At least the client runs fairly well on lower end machines, we're not talking the juddering monster that Vanguard is here. However it doesn't come across as having the class or style that the DDO engine has.
I can see myself spending a while in the Shadows of Angmar. I enjoy the lore behind it. I enjoy the classes (especially the archer, where archery counts as the main attack skill and not just for pulling - something Asherons Call 2 did well) and the races - although I'd like to have seen a female dwarf option - sexists! I'd like to see how organised grouping works out, because at the moment, theres very little fellowshipping going on at the lower levels. If you prefer your MMO'ing with a bit more grind and substance, you'll probably want to tackle Vanguard. If you want the cartoon art direction and immediacy of WoW, perhaps WoW is where you should be, or Warhammer Online when its released. If you want something that leans between Guild Wars and WoW, with a lot of established Lore behind it (that could be trashed and ruined), and follows the likes of Asherons Call 2 then LOTRO might just be for you. If you can't decide, why not pick up the client and the beta key they're offering and join in the world now?
I think I'd like to be involved with a Legends LOTRO guild, so please show your interest in these forums and we can sort out a start up on the 14th April (when the pre-orders get access to the servers)
Graphically, they've gone a bit too astray from the Peter Jackson vision we all know and love. The world is a bit too cartoony. A bit too colourful and 'feathered cap' for my liking. Where is the gritty mud soaked realism Wingnut films threw at us in 3 hour chunks? With Dungeons and Dragons Online login/update mechanism reskinned, the entrance to the LOTRO client is a bit too familiar. When you're in there, waves of deja vu wash over you, whispering Guild Wars and Asherons Call in your shell like. The world is well crafted, with some areas showing off sights to be dumb struck at, but mostly, you get the feeling, that this isn't the MMO of the film of the book.
The initial quests you are thrust into are simplistic, but flavoured enough in LOTR lore, for LOTR fans to be swept up in joining Elrond in battle, or seeing Gandalf and Gimli. As tutorial quests they do give you basics in a nicely presented way, although they get a bit tedious if you're on them for the 5th time (rolling different characters). Then you have a mini-area to play in and get your feet. Similar to Guild Wars, you get a tight knit area to run some quests and cut your teeth, with the skill progression, and the beginnings of your character tweaking. Once you've eeked out all quests and you've camped one or two bosses, with plenty of others, you get to run through another storied instance into the bigger world of Middle Earth.
You're more or less plonked into this without explanation. And the subtleties of the game are gleaned by plenty of chit and chat on the /ooc channel, or a brief search on the web for info-packed fan sites. The player achievements are very welcome, and you gain traits and skills and increases in your damage as you level up.
The combat is good in that many of the special skills you posses act in chains, so that you are always planning a chain to lay down on the enemy. Keeping you interested, and not just mindlessly mashing buttons. However, some of the melee combat is a bit weak willed. Doesn't feel satisfying. And the combat animations (as well as most of the player animations) feel awkward, mistimed and gangly. Since I played an archer (Elven, from Mirkwood, obviously!), there is satisfaction in coupling a double shot, with a barbed shot, which them adds a damage multiplier to a melee hit when they come up close and personal. Plus you have traps (which lay invisibly), with which to hold your pray and get another shot off at them. It may sound like the combat is rubbish, but its not, its just animated a bit rubbish. The combat actually works well, and the combinations you can lay down do always keep you in the action, especially with the variability of misses, evades and blocks coming into play. If only I could duel wield earlier than level 20, I'd have my Legolas clone with big daggers from the films. I do however have an attack that jabs the enemy in the face with an arrow. A personal favourite of mine.
I must say, I've found the LOTRO community to be about as hostile as you can get. Not Neocron hostile, but Guild Wars hostile. Theres a lot of trouble with having a multi-laguage server, being inundated with reams of french or german doesn't help sift the info. Also, asking questions rarely gets an answer, and forming fellowships (teams, parties) seems to be against most players religion. Being in a ravine full of players as well as menacing orcs, and then being jumped by three of orcs instead of the planned one, you'd expect the player populace to help out a bit. After all, you've spent some time plinking your mirkwood arrows into their beasts to help them out with adds. But no. They'll happily let you die. Some, will exploit the aggro of a helper, so that you help them with the damage, and attract the beasts attention, then they'll happily wander off to let you deal with it, and they'll take the experience reward and come back for the loot too.
I do like the idea that you kill animals in the field for their skins and bones to craft stuff from, rather than just because we needed something to kill. All your quarry seems fairly natural for the area. And a hunter, does indeed feel like they're hunting for their wellbeing, and not just because we need to kill x of y.
Lets try and summarise everything, I like the setting, that goes without saying. I'm not massively keen on the overly colourful rendering of it, but some areas I've seen are really well built (The Shire for instance), the characters are semi-realistic, but with a cartoon bent that Asherons Call suffered from, long before the WoW machine with its "art direction" come on the scene. The combat system seems satisfying enough, if only it was animated better to provide a bit more feedback. The crafting system seems to follow current convention, but its heirarchy and hopefully accessibility will remain to all, and not just the dedicated few. At least the client runs fairly well on lower end machines, we're not talking the juddering monster that Vanguard is here. However it doesn't come across as having the class or style that the DDO engine has.
I can see myself spending a while in the Shadows of Angmar. I enjoy the lore behind it. I enjoy the classes (especially the archer, where archery counts as the main attack skill and not just for pulling - something Asherons Call 2 did well) and the races - although I'd like to have seen a female dwarf option - sexists! I'd like to see how organised grouping works out, because at the moment, theres very little fellowshipping going on at the lower levels. If you prefer your MMO'ing with a bit more grind and substance, you'll probably want to tackle Vanguard. If you want the cartoon art direction and immediacy of WoW, perhaps WoW is where you should be, or Warhammer Online when its released. If you want something that leans between Guild Wars and WoW, with a lot of established Lore behind it (that could be trashed and ruined), and follows the likes of Asherons Call 2 then LOTRO might just be for you. If you can't decide, why not pick up the client and the beta key they're offering and join in the world now?
I think I'd like to be involved with a Legends LOTRO guild, so please show your interest in these forums and we can sort out a start up on the 14th April (when the pre-orders get access to the servers)
Friday 9 March 2007
Lux Delux
Probably not what Conquer clubbers want to hear, but, I had my first few games of Lux Delux Online this evening, and bugger me if it isn't hard and fast speed Risk.
http://sillysoft.net/lux/
Managed to set up a game with me and my bro, and two bots. Playing through, combat is speedy and all on the right click. However its still all about the Risk. There are seemingly endless maps and the game comes with a map creator if your'e feeling artistic.
Alot of the online games have turn limits imposed, so say 30secs or 50 secs, so it plays very fast indeed. Some of the players who connected to our game as guests and then had a session when I ticked a new game over, were quite robust players, used to the speed Risk game.
Obviously could be a groovey game to get some folks together and have an evening of playing through some of the 400+ maps available. Top stuff. Conquer Clubbers into Risk big style should enjoy Lux and its offline/online capabilities. It has a selection of bots with different AI skills, and you can even try your hand at programming their AI code if you're up to the job.
Give the demo a try at least, if you're sucked into CC. And for 13 quid, Lux Delux certainly delivers that Risk fix when you're not CC'ing it. :)
http://sillysoft.net/lux/
Managed to set up a game with me and my bro, and two bots. Playing through, combat is speedy and all on the right click. However its still all about the Risk. There are seemingly endless maps and the game comes with a map creator if your'e feeling artistic.
Alot of the online games have turn limits imposed, so say 30secs or 50 secs, so it plays very fast indeed. Some of the players who connected to our game as guests and then had a session when I ticked a new game over, were quite robust players, used to the speed Risk game.
Obviously could be a groovey game to get some folks together and have an evening of playing through some of the 400+ maps available. Top stuff. Conquer Clubbers into Risk big style should enjoy Lux and its offline/online capabilities. It has a selection of bots with different AI skills, and you can even try your hand at programming their AI code if you're up to the job.
Give the demo a try at least, if you're sucked into CC. And for 13 quid, Lux Delux certainly delivers that Risk fix when you're not CC'ing it. :)
Thursday 8 March 2007
Age of Empires
I've been giving this a bash recently, grabbed it at £19.99. I do like the overall presentation. The medievil/semi historical touch is very nice, on a handheld that has so many saccharin cutesy RPG nonsense. I like the combat animations too, very nicely done, not cartoony, not too pixellated that you can't get a feel for whats going on. My biggest criticism is the crowded nature of the game in play. Get a few isometric 3d sprites next to each other and you're in trouble to find which one is which, without having to skim over them individually to see their info in the top screen. Target selection does seem tricky, and can lead you to do a dance with the redo menu over and over before you get it right. But I'm using the stylus, not the d-pad and buttons. Taking a village for instance requires you placing iso 3d units in front and behind, and then defensive units spawn on top of the 3d building sprites and it just looks overly messy. Cavalry units taking up the most space and making it even more difficult to see whats going on. Its nice to see the iso sprites moving about and what not, but sometimes I just want an overview of what units are where so I can think about the strategy and not worry about placing wrong units in wrong positions etc.
I must say it has some clout for a handheld strategy game. And even the initial tutorial levels give you something to think about (specifically stopping the battering ram knocking down your church). Worth a punt for that sort of price. But it does have some interface issues, with crowding on the screen. Perhaps I'll try it without the stylus and see if its less frustrating?
I must say it has some clout for a handheld strategy game. And even the initial tutorial levels give you something to think about (specifically stopping the battering ram knocking down your church). Worth a punt for that sort of price. But it does have some interface issues, with crowding on the screen. Perhaps I'll try it without the stylus and see if its less frustrating?
Ghost Rider
Saw this yesterday. Wasn't too bad. Although I didn't think Cage was the right man for the part.. looked too Ted Danson with his dodgy wig on, and too old to be Jonny Blaze. They should've just stuck with the guy who did the young Jonny stuff. Some of the action scenes were nicely done. Lashing the bike around the skyscrapers etc. Villains were a bit too panto buffy for my liking. Wasn't sure whether the Elvis pointing was something Cage added in himself, but it was like seeing him from Wild at Heart all over again, only with more chains and flame.. and a raggedy ass wig. Everytime he "lit up" on command towards the end, I wanted to shout out "Flame on!".. Spawn is much more sinister than Ghost Rider though. Didn't quite understand why the cowboy Ghost Rider from many a moon ago had to ride with him to the cemetry. He knew the way. But it did set up a nice shot of bike and horse all a flame riding into the distance together. Now he's got this out of the way, lets get MJS back to doing Daredevil 2 shall we? ;)
Conquerclub.com
Imagine online Risk, with a full mechanism behind it for tracking your friends, for joining new games, and for ranking your progress. Once you've imagined this, then take a look at http://www.conquerclub.com. Whilst not acutally stating that this is Risk, presumably for copyright reasons, this is the nearest thing you'll get to web based Risk on a large scale. Theres the classic maps and tweaked classics, but there are a number of specialist maps with some unique play inside of them. There are also a few modes of gameplay that deviate from your standard Risk, but add a lot to the enjoyment. Assassin is one of my favourite, where the winning condition is to eliminate a specific player from the map, if you can do this, then you've won the game. All other players have separate targets and it becomes a game of bluff and elimination rather than the usual fortify and conquer. The games can be set up to play freestyle, basically realtime almost, where the last player to take their turn ticks over the round. If you've got other players hotseating then this can be a fast and furious session of speed Risk. There is also the mechanism for sequential play, where players take their turn, and each player has up to 24 hours to complete their go, these games can be much more slower paced and well thought out, and are ideal for the lunchtime at work sessions.
You can sign up to Conquer Club for free, and have up to 4 games on the go at any one time. However, you can't initiate games. Paying a small fee per annum, roughly about 10 quid, allows you to participate in any number of games, and also set games up for private play with your friends. Well worth the entrance fee, if you ask me.
Excellent Risk based gaming site, very affordable, with hours of play ahead of you. Top marks. It makes playing Risk cool again.
You can sign up to Conquer Club for free, and have up to 4 games on the go at any one time. However, you can't initiate games. Paying a small fee per annum, roughly about 10 quid, allows you to participate in any number of games, and also set games up for private play with your friends. Well worth the entrance fee, if you ask me.
Excellent Risk based gaming site, very affordable, with hours of play ahead of you. Top marks. It makes playing Risk cool again.
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