I finished it (the single player game) this weekend, and it was the usual Call of Duty experience, lots of chaos being channelled through picturesque and cinematic areas. Obviously the graphics have been touched up, and there are some truly stunning locations, where you just want to sit back and watch rather than actually take part and miss the beauty of it all. The final push to the Reichstag building in Berlin and then the conflict inside it was very atmospheric. The usual gun and drop mechanism was mixed up slightly by the inclusion of Banzai charging japanese troops, who would usually come at you from an unsuspecting angle, or they would climb over obstacles to get that bayonet into you. Countering this required quite precise timing with the right click stick, to perform a knife in the neck saving blow. It did seem a bit hit and miss, to hang your ultimate safety on a very visually discrete command and a very twitchy mechanic. However, in the heat of the battle, when the japanese where thick, you actually found yourself gunning some, turning and stabbing and slashing others with the right click stick, and if you initiate the blade based combat the kill window seemed a lot less picky, than if the bayonet was to come poking at you. So ultimately, if they were getting near, I'd be slashing away frantically anyway. And if any bayonet managed to get through, my stick clicking was already happening so I usually made the tight window and was rewarded with the neck stab. The complement the banzai chargers, and there was an awful lot of them, in most arenas you found yourself in the pacific - the Germans had alsations, snapping speedy hounds of death - luckily they were few and far between in the campaign, but they can be dispatched with a few hurried shots, or again another right clicking life saving throat grab when they open their jaws to bite. The same tactic I used on the banzai chargers worked for the dogs, slash and stab them before we get to the throat bit. Camo decked Japanese soldiers jumping out of ground traps like funnel web spiders were indeed a nice touch to the action, and certainly made you more apprehensive about moving forward in the undergrowth. I think at the end of it all, the extra level of intimacy in combat worked, adding more panic to the gun blazing, when you have to break of your aim, and start slashing, to shrug the blood off your face and resume your salvo.
There were gunnery positions in the usual windows, AA gunning on a flying boat, with swappable positions which made it all the more exciting to have to physically move around inside the aircraft and switch to other positions. There was a tank section or two to add to the mix, although the Russian tanks seemed very stubby and a bit flighty and didn't really feel like the huling tank beasts they should, but then perhaps we've been spoilt a bit with tanks in games recently. The weapons were the usual stuff, with the addition of a flame thrower that actually did feel like a flame thrower with range, rather than just a vestigil torch. Filling bunkers and tunnels with flame was very satisfying indeed. As was sniping German flamer's gastanks and watching the ensuing carnage burst all around. I was a bit saddened that they deemed to drop the british side of things, but I guess they just wanted to juxtapose the closing war in the pacific with the closing war in europe and to add another army might dilute the symmetry. The stylised story animations were well done - imagine an MTV styled quick blow by blow account with silhouetted iconic images, Dad's Army Arrows and actual footage of people being shot dead - the voice talents of Keifer Sutherland and Gary Oldman were excellent. Molotov cocktails were also included and implemented with satisfying flame spread, commplete with zippo lighter and burning rag.
Overall the thrill of the ride was as good as Call of Duty gets, nothing that special in terms of ingenuity, but what was present was a rollercoaster of WWII combat with interesting situations and locations. With the multiplayer game providing longevity - seemingly faster paced than CoD4 - but with the same sort of perks progression - perhaps CoD5 will provide a stop gap for WWII enjoyment until CoD6 comes a knocking? So, enjoyable, but only if you like a) Call of Duty franchise, b) WWII and c) Shooting/Stabbing Japanese and Dogs.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Soundtrack for the Voices in my Head Vol 1 OUT TODAY!
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Soundtrack for the Voices in my HEAD"]
[/caption]
New Celldweller Album is out today, pre-order allows MP3 download.. Its mainly instrumental, but still rock solid Klayton stuff.. meanwhile he's currently working on the new Celldweller Album Sophomore.
Some of the new tracks can be heard on Celldwellers Myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/celldweller
more info...
http://www.celldweller.com
[/caption]New Celldweller Album is out today, pre-order allows MP3 download.. Its mainly instrumental, but still rock solid Klayton stuff.. meanwhile he's currently working on the new Celldweller Album Sophomore.
Some of the new tracks can be heard on Celldwellers Myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/celldweller
more info...
http://www.celldweller.com
Spectromancer
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="335" caption="Combat in the Spectromancer arena"]
[/caption]
Spectromancer is the next incarnation of the Astral Masters non-collectible card duelling game. Several of the Magic the Gathering designers got together with the Astral Masters developer and have come up with a new game, holding the same level of interest as AM, but with different magic fields, a single player campaign, and an online duelling arena with ladders and tournaments etc. The artwork is as usual top notch, and the game comes across more polished and dare I say it, more enjoyable to play. At a budget price of around £13 its certainly worth an investment if you enjoy fantasy themed card battlers, especially if you like the idea of a single player campaign, where your strategy and tactics have to evolve and shift to overcome advantages of the AI players.
[/caption]Spectromancer is the next incarnation of the Astral Masters non-collectible card duelling game. Several of the Magic the Gathering designers got together with the Astral Masters developer and have come up with a new game, holding the same level of interest as AM, but with different magic fields, a single player campaign, and an online duelling arena with ladders and tournaments etc. The artwork is as usual top notch, and the game comes across more polished and dare I say it, more enjoyable to play. At a budget price of around £13 its certainly worth an investment if you enjoy fantasy themed card battlers, especially if you like the idea of a single player campaign, where your strategy and tactics have to evolve and shift to overcome advantages of the AI players.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Fable II
Some observations after a couple of days play..
I've had it just freeze on me twice, usually in a tomb or cave of some sort, one being on round 6 of the Crucible which was very annoying - since although it says its saving content, it doesn't seem to save in bewteen rounds of the Crucible. Its odd, the game freezes, no response, but the console itself is still working, back to dashboard was ok. So its not a total hang as such.
I was very upset to see the strapping young lass I'd chosen as my avatar to start to become very scarred and very obese, and with any sort of clothing on, ridiculously rotund. Simply because I'd been adding HP via Physique to her so she could withstand battles, and pumping the Toughness for the same reason. She became grotesque and I couldn't love her anymore. I had to throw a shedload of XP spent away, to make her pleasing to the eye again (although the Scars and "Too Human-like" Will lines are still there) - but just as I've made her as I want her again, she's got the HP of a small garden snail.
I also, want to make my character specialise in one thing or another, not have to dabble in many to make her viable. I was forced to take a Will based skill to open a gate to the world.. I didn't like that.
The crafting mini games are slightly amusing for the first few runs through, but attaining the 5th level on any profession seems to be a feat of endurance in terms of physical and mental torture. These press a button at the right time "games" aren't THAT exciting to play. It is true grinding. And yet, one of the easiest ways to make a lot of money. The gambling games all stink if you ask me. Theres just no skill to hardly any of them. The card one has a modecum of tactics, the rest are just tedious luck based money sinks.
The world itself is more linear than say something like Two Worlds, and the equipment, even with augments is dumbed down from your traditional RPG's. Plus theres no Bows that I can find *stomps feet in anger* and they promote the use of crossbows *shudder*.
The world is charmingly realised though, and the combat with the inclusion of cinematic slow-mo strikes can be very satisfying. Performing the 'coup de grace' killing blow on prone enemies can be a bit hit and miss, but overall I like the combat system. The expression system is a breath of fresh air, if a little confusing to begin with. The dog is a good idea, for promoting exploration and treasure finding. He even lends a small hand in combat if he can, by nibbling the throat of prone enemies. Some of the quest stories are intriguing and have a quirky british take on them, with some trying a little too hard to be "funny". The co-op system has yet to be tested out properly, since it seems to be more a help your mates when they need it, rather than a true multi-character co-operative run through the game. However, seeing your friends orbs in game is a unique concept and probably one of the more impressive unique features.
It has a lot going for it. But, it does sort of smooth down the character class system, and I guess thats the price you pay for trying to appeal to the mass market - and some would say its opening up RPG's to the gaming public. The idea of avatar appearance changing through experiences is excellent, but having a pie for health reasons making you fat, or trying to boost your HP a little to endure battles better starts to distort your characters physique, really gets on my wick. I need to be able to shape my character in beneficial and pleasing to the eye ways - like unqiue costumes and weapons, hair colour, hats etc, I don't need my combat tweakings to turn her into a 50 stone WWE wrestling man!!
I've had it just freeze on me twice, usually in a tomb or cave of some sort, one being on round 6 of the Crucible which was very annoying - since although it says its saving content, it doesn't seem to save in bewteen rounds of the Crucible. Its odd, the game freezes, no response, but the console itself is still working, back to dashboard was ok. So its not a total hang as such.
I was very upset to see the strapping young lass I'd chosen as my avatar to start to become very scarred and very obese, and with any sort of clothing on, ridiculously rotund. Simply because I'd been adding HP via Physique to her so she could withstand battles, and pumping the Toughness for the same reason. She became grotesque and I couldn't love her anymore. I had to throw a shedload of XP spent away, to make her pleasing to the eye again (although the Scars and "Too Human-like" Will lines are still there) - but just as I've made her as I want her again, she's got the HP of a small garden snail.
I also, want to make my character specialise in one thing or another, not have to dabble in many to make her viable. I was forced to take a Will based skill to open a gate to the world.. I didn't like that.
The crafting mini games are slightly amusing for the first few runs through, but attaining the 5th level on any profession seems to be a feat of endurance in terms of physical and mental torture. These press a button at the right time "games" aren't THAT exciting to play. It is true grinding. And yet, one of the easiest ways to make a lot of money. The gambling games all stink if you ask me. Theres just no skill to hardly any of them. The card one has a modecum of tactics, the rest are just tedious luck based money sinks.
The world itself is more linear than say something like Two Worlds, and the equipment, even with augments is dumbed down from your traditional RPG's. Plus theres no Bows that I can find *stomps feet in anger* and they promote the use of crossbows *shudder*.
The world is charmingly realised though, and the combat with the inclusion of cinematic slow-mo strikes can be very satisfying. Performing the 'coup de grace' killing blow on prone enemies can be a bit hit and miss, but overall I like the combat system. The expression system is a breath of fresh air, if a little confusing to begin with. The dog is a good idea, for promoting exploration and treasure finding. He even lends a small hand in combat if he can, by nibbling the throat of prone enemies. Some of the quest stories are intriguing and have a quirky british take on them, with some trying a little too hard to be "funny". The co-op system has yet to be tested out properly, since it seems to be more a help your mates when they need it, rather than a true multi-character co-operative run through the game. However, seeing your friends orbs in game is a unique concept and probably one of the more impressive unique features.
It has a lot going for it. But, it does sort of smooth down the character class system, and I guess thats the price you pay for trying to appeal to the mass market - and some would say its opening up RPG's to the gaming public. The idea of avatar appearance changing through experiences is excellent, but having a pie for health reasons making you fat, or trying to boost your HP a little to endure battles better starts to distort your characters physique, really gets on my wick. I need to be able to shape my character in beneficial and pleasing to the eye ways - like unqiue costumes and weapons, hair colour, hats etc, I don't need my combat tweakings to turn her into a 50 stone WWE wrestling man!!
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
A letter to Drew
(Drew is the writer on Mass Effect, he can be found here http://www.drewkarpyshyn.com/)
Drew,
I realise you're a busy man, and I won't keep you long. Just wanted to express my appreciation for your storytelling work on Mass Effect: Revelation, Mass Effect the Game, and Mass Effect: Ascension. Your latest work, isn't quite as informative nor as fast paced as the first installment, but what it does do, it cement even more culture and credibility into the Mass Effect Universe, and for that I am very grateful. I believe, you have a very mature and unique environment in which to explore all sorts of Sci Fi related issues, and I can only praise your writing and your imagination for bringing such a believable and interactive place to life for me to play inside. I'm a mature gamer, and I appreciate works of compelling fiction, but never have I had such a story that hits a chord with my core as Mass Effect. As a child the Star Wars Universe titilated my senses, and I've grown up with an appreciate of fantasy and science fiction, gaming becoming one of my life long loves. Never before has a game, consolidated so much I love and offer me so much reward for investigating the meta-game information available. I soak it all up, and enjoy the bigger experience overall.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, as a writer, for fleshing out the world around the game, for giving me characters I enjoy, and believe in, and then you set me down in a adult playground to enjoy an epic cinematic experience, flexing my will, and my whims until I emerge satiated and craving more. Then you fill in the gaps whilst I wait for more. Personally I would like to think Mass Effect could become its own franchise in terms of fiction, regardless of tie-ins with the game. I'm applaud all avenues of this Lore support, whether it be more books, graphic novels, TV series etc, but most of all I'd like to pledge my support in terms of a wage earning discerning adult, who would jump at the chance to enrich his pastime by purchasing more insights into the Mass Effect Universe you have created.
Lastly, I'd like to reassure you that although many are willing to criticise your current novel (Mass Effect: Ascension) for not tying into the game, its because they are not willing to let the storyteller join the dots as and when the next part of the Mass Effect tale is told. They want all the answers up front. And for me, part of the beauty of the Mass Effect Universe is the fact that you know theres more to it up ahead, and my faith in your skill to weave a credible and enjoyable yarn placates that yearning, almost teases it until the next game hits the shelves.
Keep writing, keep creating, I do hope more Mass Effect novels become very popular alongside the gaming franchise because ultimately Mass Effect is a tale about humanity in the future, and it is a modern day myth on an equal setting to those myths of Legends from the past.
Kudos to you, Sir.
Drew,
I realise you're a busy man, and I won't keep you long. Just wanted to express my appreciation for your storytelling work on Mass Effect: Revelation, Mass Effect the Game, and Mass Effect: Ascension. Your latest work, isn't quite as informative nor as fast paced as the first installment, but what it does do, it cement even more culture and credibility into the Mass Effect Universe, and for that I am very grateful. I believe, you have a very mature and unique environment in which to explore all sorts of Sci Fi related issues, and I can only praise your writing and your imagination for bringing such a believable and interactive place to life for me to play inside. I'm a mature gamer, and I appreciate works of compelling fiction, but never have I had such a story that hits a chord with my core as Mass Effect. As a child the Star Wars Universe titilated my senses, and I've grown up with an appreciate of fantasy and science fiction, gaming becoming one of my life long loves. Never before has a game, consolidated so much I love and offer me so much reward for investigating the meta-game information available. I soak it all up, and enjoy the bigger experience overall.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you, as a writer, for fleshing out the world around the game, for giving me characters I enjoy, and believe in, and then you set me down in a adult playground to enjoy an epic cinematic experience, flexing my will, and my whims until I emerge satiated and craving more. Then you fill in the gaps whilst I wait for more. Personally I would like to think Mass Effect could become its own franchise in terms of fiction, regardless of tie-ins with the game. I'm applaud all avenues of this Lore support, whether it be more books, graphic novels, TV series etc, but most of all I'd like to pledge my support in terms of a wage earning discerning adult, who would jump at the chance to enrich his pastime by purchasing more insights into the Mass Effect Universe you have created.
Lastly, I'd like to reassure you that although many are willing to criticise your current novel (Mass Effect: Ascension) for not tying into the game, its because they are not willing to let the storyteller join the dots as and when the next part of the Mass Effect tale is told. They want all the answers up front. And for me, part of the beauty of the Mass Effect Universe is the fact that you know theres more to it up ahead, and my faith in your skill to weave a credible and enjoyable yarn placates that yearning, almost teases it until the next game hits the shelves.
Keep writing, keep creating, I do hope more Mass Effect novels become very popular alongside the gaming franchise because ultimately Mass Effect is a tale about humanity in the future, and it is a modern day myth on an equal setting to those myths of Legends from the past.
Kudos to you, Sir.
Necronomicon
The Necronomicon is a free browser based Cthulhu card game, that has 20 levels of play. An interesting lunchtime pursuit for those of you who are spellbound and pushed over into insanity by the Cthulhu Mythos.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="The Necronomicon"]
[/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450" caption="The Necronomicon"]
[/caption]
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Sryth
http://www.sryth.com/
Dunno whether this has been mentioned before, but its quite a decent storied single player web based RPG, free to play with some limitations, or £10 for a years sub to open it all up. The story stuff is quite well written and could be the descriptions of a DM, the stats and combat are not bad, plenty to tinker with and level up etc.
Very interesting game, that has me sucked in at the moment... for lunchtimes.. more to it than Dragon Tavern.
Dunno whether this has been mentioned before, but its quite a decent storied single player web based RPG, free to play with some limitations, or £10 for a years sub to open it all up. The story stuff is quite well written and could be the descriptions of a DM, the stats and combat are not bad, plenty to tinker with and level up etc.
Very interesting game, that has me sucked in at the moment... for lunchtimes.. more to it than Dragon Tavern.
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