Despite my intention to play the Star Wars games in their correct order (ie order of release), I somehow ended up playing this game after playing Jedi Academy. In my defence, the naming conventions for these games is extremely confusing!
In any event, I didn't play this game until after Jedi Academy. Which is a bit of a shame as I think I would actually have enjoyed it more if I played it before Jedi Academy. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Jedi Knight II continues the story of Kyle Katarn from the previous Dark Forces games. You start off with no force powers as Kyle has rejected being a jedi and the start of the game actually has you playing it as a standard FPS. A couple of missions later, events transpire to force Kyle to take up the lightsaber again at which point you start to gain access to your force powers. Naturally, you start off underpowered and need to build up your levels again before you get access to the full suite of powers.
The FPS gameplay mechanics in this game are actually fairly solid and have held up well. What amazes me though is how difficult the game is. Not just in terms of how tough the bad guys are but also how rough the puzzles are.
Not long after I started the game, I had to actually stop and check my settings to make sure I was playing on the Normal difficulty (I was). I then had to stop regularly (once each level) to check an online FAQ to find out how I could make progress in the game!
It's been a looong time since I've had to check online FAQs. Not a particularly great feeling. :)
My next surprise was finding out that, not long after getting the lightsaber, I wasn't actually having much fun with the game. I suspect this was due to me coming to this game after playing Jedi Academy which seems to have a tightened engine - particularly in relation to the lightsaber combat. Possibly, it was also having to play the game with an "underpowered" jedi (in relation to my powered up character in Jedi Academy).
Ultimately, I didn't finish the game which is a shame. I understand the game was well reviewed when it came out and from my limited time with it, I can see that it is a good game. Just not one I had the drive to finish.
Showing posts with label Shooter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shooter. Show all posts
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
First off, a quick note to let you know that I will be changing my blogging schedule starting from next week. Instead of posting 3 updates across my blogs on Sunday, I will be using the below schedule. In brief, this will allow me to spread out my posts as well as work load.
- Meister Hobbies - Sunday
- Meister Speaks - Tuesday
- Meister Games - Thursday
And now - back to your regular scheduled program!
After several negative posts about some of the older Star Wars games, I finally have good news! Jedi Academy is a great game.
Granted, as you would expect of an older game, the graphics are fairly basic. However, what works for this game is the feel of being a jedi which the game manages to capture really well. It's just a whole passel o' fun to run around with your lightsaber and block blaster shots while carving up stormtroopers.
The game also tries to mix things up by having a mix of puzzles and combat sections. The puzzle sections are fairly basic though which in this case, is a good thing. Basically, the puzzle elements do a good job of mixing up the gameplay so that you have a continuous cycle of ramping up the action before a brief pause to recover before the action ramps up again (which is a key element in designing a good game). This means you never get bored with constant combat but at the same time, the puzzles are simple enough that you never get stuck on them and can get back to the action quickly.
The only nitpick complaint I have is that the keyboard makes it hard to play with my force powers. I had the powers mapped to the number keys but in an action game, by the time I reached over to press the right number, the enemy had already moved out of my crosshair. In practice, this meant that, outside of Healing and Force Field (which are generally activated outside of combat), Force Push was the only ability I used as it is a useful ability when facing Sith and they combat grab you (Force Push can break the grab).
Overall, a really fun game and one I definitely recommend.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Star Wars: Dark Forces II
This is almost going to be a repeat of last weeks post.
As part of the Star Wars humble bundle, I also got Dark Forces II. After giving up on Dark Forces, I decided to try out Dark Forces II to see what that was like. However, unlike Dark Forces, I have never played Dark Forces II before.
The first thing which hit me when I loaded up DF2 was how old the game looks. Specifically, this came out during the period when CD-ROMs first started to gain popularity in the PC gaming market. In particular, during the period when every game came out with filmed cutscenes with bad actors and cheap sets. And boy oh boy, does this apply to DF2!
Here - check out the opening cutscene for yourself!
In terms of the game itself, I didn't get very far. Unfortunately, it suffers from many of the same problems as Dark Forces in terms of the mechanics feeling very old and dated. With that said, even from the little I played, I can see how it evolved the formula from the original Dark Forces.
As part of the Star Wars humble bundle, I also got Dark Forces II. After giving up on Dark Forces, I decided to try out Dark Forces II to see what that was like. However, unlike Dark Forces, I have never played Dark Forces II before.
The first thing which hit me when I loaded up DF2 was how old the game looks. Specifically, this came out during the period when CD-ROMs first started to gain popularity in the PC gaming market. In particular, during the period when every game came out with filmed cutscenes with bad actors and cheap sets. And boy oh boy, does this apply to DF2!
Here - check out the opening cutscene for yourself!
In terms of the game itself, I didn't get very far. Unfortunately, it suffers from many of the same problems as Dark Forces in terms of the mechanics feeling very old and dated. With that said, even from the little I played, I can see how it evolved the formula from the original Dark Forces.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Star Wars:Dark Forces
I picked up Star Wars: Dark Forces recently as part of the Star Wars humble bundle. I actually remember playing this game when it first came out.
In brief, it was one of the better Doom clones. Not that it was better than Doom but because it tried to do something different with the Doom formula. Rather than just running around a map killing everything, you actually had specific missions that you needed to complete.
Despite this, I never actually finished the game so I was fairly excited to load it up so I could give it another run through.
The game itself was first released in 1995. And unfortunately, it shows.
Playing this game really shows how far FPS games have developed over the last 2 decades. Possibly, if I had completed the game in the past, the nostalgia value may have been enough to make me keep playing. Unfortunately, I got bored of the game really quickly and uninstalled it after two levels.
Worth mentioning though that I did enjoy the game when it first came out.
Also makes me wonder - would I enjoy Doom if I played it now?
In brief, it was one of the better Doom clones. Not that it was better than Doom but because it tried to do something different with the Doom formula. Rather than just running around a map killing everything, you actually had specific missions that you needed to complete.
Despite this, I never actually finished the game so I was fairly excited to load it up so I could give it another run through.
The game itself was first released in 1995. And unfortunately, it shows.
Playing this game really shows how far FPS games have developed over the last 2 decades. Possibly, if I had completed the game in the past, the nostalgia value may have been enough to make me keep playing. Unfortunately, I got bored of the game really quickly and uninstalled it after two levels.
Worth mentioning though that I did enjoy the game when it first came out.
Also makes me wonder - would I enjoy Doom if I played it now?
Sunday, February 8, 2015
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
I got this game as part of the Humble Bundle a while ago but didn't have a chance to play it till now. Which turned out to be a good thing.
Unfortunately, the game isn't very good. To be fair, it's not bad and it has a couple of interesting ideas. It's just very very average.
With that said, there are two things about the game which are bad. Naturally, I'll talk about that here.
:)
Voice Acting
If I was being generous, I would describe the voice acting as wooden. Most of the lines are delivered flat. Those that aren't flat are delivered in a gritty annoyed tone - mainly because those lines are being delivered by the main character.
To be fair to the voice actors, I'm not sure if the bad voice acting is due to poor voice actors or if its down to poor voice direction or poor writing. Which brings me to my next point.
Writing
The writing in this game is atrocious. And I mean really really atrocious.
To illustrate how bad, let me give you an example from near the start of the game. At this point, you have gone through the first mission and have just gone to your new XCOM base.
As you explore the base and talk to people, you very quickly realise that they are still scrambling to get the base fully operational as there are a lot of signs of chaos. Corridors are blocked with boxes. Entire sections of the base are unreachable as they haven't been powered up yet. Also, someone tells you that they are scrambling to get the base operational.
While you wander around, someone tells you that one of the scientists has gone missing. In addition, he took a bomb with him so people are concerned with what he might be up to. However, agent Nils, one of the agents who helped you in your first mission, is tracking him so hopefully, we will find him soon.
At this point, you get a call from that other agent. He says that he tracked the scientist to the morgue and that there is no way out other than through the main door. He tells you to hurry. You tell him that you are on your way and then hang up. Then, you say in a really anguished and desperate voice "Hang on, Nils!"
Wait, what? Why the anguish? Did Nils get shot or something? As far as I know, he was just tracking a scientist, found him and was now waiting for me to go over there. Why the (melo)drama?
This moment is a perfect example of narrative failure. I'm actually fairly forgiving of plot holes and will breeze over most of them without question as long as I'm having a good time. However, occasionally, the plot is so badly written that it pulls me straight out of the story. At that point, I start asking questions instead of enjoying the story and unfortunately, things just fell apart for this game once I started doing that.
By the way, the reason for the melodrama is that agent Nils goes into the morgue after the scientist, who turns out to be an Alien Outsider and promptly gets killed by said Alien Outsider. Natureally, your main character knew agent Nils would go in on his own despite Nils not giving any indication of this during the call.
You see what I mean about poor writing?
Unfortunately, the game isn't very good. To be fair, it's not bad and it has a couple of interesting ideas. It's just very very average.
With that said, there are two things about the game which are bad. Naturally, I'll talk about that here.
:)
Voice Acting
If I was being generous, I would describe the voice acting as wooden. Most of the lines are delivered flat. Those that aren't flat are delivered in a gritty annoyed tone - mainly because those lines are being delivered by the main character.
To be fair to the voice actors, I'm not sure if the bad voice acting is due to poor voice actors or if its down to poor voice direction or poor writing. Which brings me to my next point.
Writing
The writing in this game is atrocious. And I mean really really atrocious.
To illustrate how bad, let me give you an example from near the start of the game. At this point, you have gone through the first mission and have just gone to your new XCOM base.
As you explore the base and talk to people, you very quickly realise that they are still scrambling to get the base fully operational as there are a lot of signs of chaos. Corridors are blocked with boxes. Entire sections of the base are unreachable as they haven't been powered up yet. Also, someone tells you that they are scrambling to get the base operational.
While you wander around, someone tells you that one of the scientists has gone missing. In addition, he took a bomb with him so people are concerned with what he might be up to. However, agent Nils, one of the agents who helped you in your first mission, is tracking him so hopefully, we will find him soon.
At this point, you get a call from that other agent. He says that he tracked the scientist to the morgue and that there is no way out other than through the main door. He tells you to hurry. You tell him that you are on your way and then hang up. Then, you say in a really anguished and desperate voice "Hang on, Nils!"
Wait, what? Why the anguish? Did Nils get shot or something? As far as I know, he was just tracking a scientist, found him and was now waiting for me to go over there. Why the (melo)drama?
This moment is a perfect example of narrative failure. I'm actually fairly forgiving of plot holes and will breeze over most of them without question as long as I'm having a good time. However, occasionally, the plot is so badly written that it pulls me straight out of the story. At that point, I start asking questions instead of enjoying the story and unfortunately, things just fell apart for this game once I started doing that.
By the way, the reason for the melodrama is that agent Nils goes into the morgue after the scientist, who turns out to be an Alien Outsider and promptly gets killed by said Alien Outsider. Natureally, your main character knew agent Nils would go in on his own despite Nils not giving any indication of this during the call.
You see what I mean about poor writing?
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Bioshock 2
Well, that's me done with Bioshock 2. Unfortunately, when I say done, I don't mean I completed the game. I mean I won't be playing any further.
The main problem is that I keep running into a save game issue where my save file keeps getting corrupted. I've restarted the Ryan Amusements level 4-5 times now and at this point, I just can't be bothered restarting again.
In addition to the save file problem, which I could probably get around if I was determined enough, I'm also not enjoying the game that much. Primarily the reason is that the game itself is too similar to Bioshock - to the extent that I feel like I'm playing Bioshock 1.5 rather than an actual sequel.
The main issue I'm having with the game is actually the narrative - or rather, the fact that the mechanics of the game go completely counter to the games narrative.
In Bioshock 2, you are supposed to be a Big Daddy.
If you're familiar with the game, you will know that Big Daddy's are big monstrous creatures who are fully encased in deep diver suits. They are big, hulking creatures which are extremely dangerous and extremely hard to kill.
Unfortunately, none of that translates to the actual gameplay.
In game, you are completely squishy - in fact, as squishy as you were at the start of Bioshock when you were just a normal plebby human. In addition, you don't even feel like a big monstrous creature when moving around. You zip around just as if you were a normal human. The game tries to sell how big you are by adding in some sounds but the problem is that it doesn't work because the only thing that is different Bioshock is the sound. For example, if you drop off some crates onto the floor, you hear a big clang as you land. But the screen doesn't show how ponderous you are. It feels like they took the animation from Bioshock and just added in the extra sound effect.
To be fair, I'm probably nit-picking here. However, the net result is that I never felt like a Big Daddy and I just could't get past that in my mind when I was playing. Unfortunately, I just wasn't able to immerse myself in the experience.
The main problem is that I keep running into a save game issue where my save file keeps getting corrupted. I've restarted the Ryan Amusements level 4-5 times now and at this point, I just can't be bothered restarting again.
In addition to the save file problem, which I could probably get around if I was determined enough, I'm also not enjoying the game that much. Primarily the reason is that the game itself is too similar to Bioshock - to the extent that I feel like I'm playing Bioshock 1.5 rather than an actual sequel.
The main issue I'm having with the game is actually the narrative - or rather, the fact that the mechanics of the game go completely counter to the games narrative.
In Bioshock 2, you are supposed to be a Big Daddy.
If you're familiar with the game, you will know that Big Daddy's are big monstrous creatures who are fully encased in deep diver suits. They are big, hulking creatures which are extremely dangerous and extremely hard to kill.
Unfortunately, none of that translates to the actual gameplay.
In game, you are completely squishy - in fact, as squishy as you were at the start of Bioshock when you were just a normal plebby human. In addition, you don't even feel like a big monstrous creature when moving around. You zip around just as if you were a normal human. The game tries to sell how big you are by adding in some sounds but the problem is that it doesn't work because the only thing that is different Bioshock is the sound. For example, if you drop off some crates onto the floor, you hear a big clang as you land. But the screen doesn't show how ponderous you are. It feels like they took the animation from Bioshock and just added in the extra sound effect.
To be fair, I'm probably nit-picking here. However, the net result is that I never felt like a Big Daddy and I just could't get past that in my mind when I was playing. Unfortunately, I just wasn't able to immerse myself in the experience.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Modern Warfare
The Call of Duty games by Infinity Ward (specifically, COD2, COD4 and Modern Warfare 2) are highly regarded games in the industry. Not only do they receive critical acclaim but they also get the sales figures to match. All in all, one of the highlights of the FPS genre.
Which probably makes it surprising for you to hear that I don't own any of the COD games.
The main reason for this is that Activision always prices the COD games with a heavy premium. The second reason is that I have a friend who likes the COD series and I was able to borrow both COD2 and recently, COD4 from him. And it was well worth the wait!
Stuff I liked
Set pieces
COD4 is full of fantastic set pieces. Right at the start of the game, you are involved in a night raid on a tanker in the middle of the ocean. Near the end, the tanker gets taken out by a Mig with you still inside and the game becomes a mad dash as you try and get out of the bowels of the sinking ship! And this is before the opening credits have rolled!
Sharp controls
As you probably know by now, bad controls piss me off. Luckily the COD games have always had great controls which are responsive and well adjusted to the xbox controller. Its hard to put into words but part of the reason that the COD games are so much fun is that the controls are so well done that you just don't need to think about them at all. I've played lots of FPS games on the xbox and very few feel as good as COD4.
Achievements
This may sound silly but I love the fact that all of the achievements for COD4 can be attained via the singleplayer. Considering how late I am to the game, there is not much point in me jumping online. The only people left playing online at this stage would be the die-hard experts and would likely be able to wipe the floor with me even if all they were armed with was a pistol.
Having said that, the achievements aren't easy to get. Completing the game on Veteran difficulty was hard. And frankly, getting the mile high club achievement looks like it may be out of my league (won't stop me trying though!).
Stuff I didn't like
Length
Its probably unfair to rag on this game for length as it seems like most FPS games these days last in the 6-10 hour range. Having said that, after finishing COD4, I really wanted to keep on playing. Also, I can't think of anything else to complain about and I couldn't just leave this section blank, could I?
Which probably makes it surprising for you to hear that I don't own any of the COD games.
The main reason for this is that Activision always prices the COD games with a heavy premium. The second reason is that I have a friend who likes the COD series and I was able to borrow both COD2 and recently, COD4 from him. And it was well worth the wait!
Stuff I liked
Set pieces
COD4 is full of fantastic set pieces. Right at the start of the game, you are involved in a night raid on a tanker in the middle of the ocean. Near the end, the tanker gets taken out by a Mig with you still inside and the game becomes a mad dash as you try and get out of the bowels of the sinking ship! And this is before the opening credits have rolled!
Sharp controls
As you probably know by now, bad controls piss me off. Luckily the COD games have always had great controls which are responsive and well adjusted to the xbox controller. Its hard to put into words but part of the reason that the COD games are so much fun is that the controls are so well done that you just don't need to think about them at all. I've played lots of FPS games on the xbox and very few feel as good as COD4.
Achievements
This may sound silly but I love the fact that all of the achievements for COD4 can be attained via the singleplayer. Considering how late I am to the game, there is not much point in me jumping online. The only people left playing online at this stage would be the die-hard experts and would likely be able to wipe the floor with me even if all they were armed with was a pistol.
Having said that, the achievements aren't easy to get. Completing the game on Veteran difficulty was hard. And frankly, getting the mile high club achievement looks like it may be out of my league (won't stop me trying though!).
Stuff I didn't like
Length
Its probably unfair to rag on this game for length as it seems like most FPS games these days last in the 6-10 hour range. Having said that, after finishing COD4, I really wanted to keep on playing. Also, I can't think of anything else to complain about and I couldn't just leave this section blank, could I?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Alan Wake
Alan Wake is an X360 exclusive which was developed by Remedy Entertainment - the same bunch of guys behind the excellent Max Payne. The game itself bears a lot of similarities to Max Payne (eg third person view, the main character is narrating etc). However, there are a couple of key differences - the main one being the style of game itself. Remedy are pitching Alan Wake as a psychological thriller. Everyone else is calling it a damn fine survival horror game!
The short version of the story was probably best explained by the Penny Arcade guys. Click here if you don't mind minor spoilers.
In Alan Wake, you play the role of Alan Wake (surprise!). Alan is a famous writer of horror stories (a la Stephen King) who is suffering from writer's block. To help overcome this, Alan and his wife travel to a remote village in the middle of nowhere so that he can recharge his batteries. This being a survival horror game, it isn't long before the fit hits the shan and you find yourself on the run from both the police and the creatures of the night which are out to take over the world!
Stuff I liked
Controls - Sorry for beating this tired old horse again but I really can't stress how important a good control scheme is. The fact is that Alan Wake uses the thumbsticks in an industry standard control scheme (left stick controls movement while right stick controls camera) and this allows me to jump straight into the gameplay without worrying about the controls.
Atmosphere - Remedy did a fantastic job with the graphics. Just like with FEAR, I only played this game at night with the lights down low and you really feel the tension when you are wandering around the woods at night with only your flashlight to show the way. This may sound cliche but I really struggled to play this game for a long period of time.
In many ways, the atmosphere is much better than in FEAR. In FEAR, there was a limit to the actual fear factor as you were generally armed to the teeth with guns and grenades. However, in Alan Wake, you generally find yourself being careful with your ammo in case you run out before the next ammo cache. This fundamental difference really changes the way the tension mounts during the game.
Episodic - Remedy also did a really good job in breaking up the game into episodes. Each episode starts off in relative safety before building up to a climactic finish for that episode. By the time you finish one episode, your nerves are shot through and its a great place to stop and take a break.
They also do a good job of selling the episodes as each episode starts with a summary of what has happened so far and effectively ends with credits (no actual credits scroll but you have a different song to end each episode).
Stuff I didn't like
Episodic - Unfortunately, Remedy didn't think through the episodic format very well. At the end of each episode, it automatically goes into the next episode without asking if you want to save and stop. Which defeats the purpose of having an episodic format to start with. If the intention was for the player to simply dive into the next episode, why bother breaking up the game with music and episode summaries?
Enemies - This is a bit of an obvious nitpick but a little bit more variety in the enemy types would have helped this game. Although I never got tired of the combat, it does reduce the fear level a bit when you know exactly what to do to defeat the enemy. In fact, it got to the stage where fighting enemies became routine and wasn't scary at all.
One last comment. This game has received a lot of criticism for the amount of real life ad placements within the game. Speaking for myself, I never considered it an issue as the ads were appropriate and didn't pull me out of the game. For example, you need batteries to power your torch so you are constantly on the lookout for more batteries. Does it really pull you out of the game if those batteries are branded?
The short version of the story was probably best explained by the Penny Arcade guys. Click here if you don't mind minor spoilers.
In Alan Wake, you play the role of Alan Wake (surprise!). Alan is a famous writer of horror stories (a la Stephen King) who is suffering from writer's block. To help overcome this, Alan and his wife travel to a remote village in the middle of nowhere so that he can recharge his batteries. This being a survival horror game, it isn't long before the fit hits the shan and you find yourself on the run from both the police and the creatures of the night which are out to take over the world!
Stuff I liked
Controls - Sorry for beating this tired old horse again but I really can't stress how important a good control scheme is. The fact is that Alan Wake uses the thumbsticks in an industry standard control scheme (left stick controls movement while right stick controls camera) and this allows me to jump straight into the gameplay without worrying about the controls.
Atmosphere - Remedy did a fantastic job with the graphics. Just like with FEAR, I only played this game at night with the lights down low and you really feel the tension when you are wandering around the woods at night with only your flashlight to show the way. This may sound cliche but I really struggled to play this game for a long period of time.
In many ways, the atmosphere is much better than in FEAR. In FEAR, there was a limit to the actual fear factor as you were generally armed to the teeth with guns and grenades. However, in Alan Wake, you generally find yourself being careful with your ammo in case you run out before the next ammo cache. This fundamental difference really changes the way the tension mounts during the game.
Episodic - Remedy also did a really good job in breaking up the game into episodes. Each episode starts off in relative safety before building up to a climactic finish for that episode. By the time you finish one episode, your nerves are shot through and its a great place to stop and take a break.
They also do a good job of selling the episodes as each episode starts with a summary of what has happened so far and effectively ends with credits (no actual credits scroll but you have a different song to end each episode).
Stuff I didn't like
Episodic - Unfortunately, Remedy didn't think through the episodic format very well. At the end of each episode, it automatically goes into the next episode without asking if you want to save and stop. Which defeats the purpose of having an episodic format to start with. If the intention was for the player to simply dive into the next episode, why bother breaking up the game with music and episode summaries?
Enemies - This is a bit of an obvious nitpick but a little bit more variety in the enemy types would have helped this game. Although I never got tired of the combat, it does reduce the fear level a bit when you know exactly what to do to defeat the enemy. In fact, it got to the stage where fighting enemies became routine and wasn't scary at all.
One last comment. This game has received a lot of criticism for the amount of real life ad placements within the game. Speaking for myself, I never considered it an issue as the ads were appropriate and didn't pull me out of the game. For example, you need batteries to power your torch so you are constantly on the lookout for more batteries. Does it really pull you out of the game if those batteries are branded?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Rainbow Six - Multiplayer gameplay example
With Ubisoft on my boycott list, I have been reminiscing about some of the games that I would no longer be playing. In particular, I think I'm really going to miss Rainbow Six as it was a really good game and I had lots of fun with it. In the past, I've posted some gameplay examples taken from the singleplayer and co-op experience but haven't really posted any multiplayer gameplay examples which is interesting as one of my strongest memories of this game is actually from the multiplayer side.
This particular game was a match of Retrieval on the casino map. The casino map itself has 3 levels. The top level is the roof which is where the attacking team spawns in. The middle level is the main casino floor and has a spawn room for the defending team. The lowest floor is the control room of the casino and, along with another spawn point for the defending team, is where the server room is located. The objective for the attacking team is to retrieve a hard drive from the server room and then extract to the roof to escape by helicopter. It goes without saying that the job of the defending team is to prevent the hard disk from being extracted.
In this particular match, I was on the defending team along with a friend and two strangers. The attacking team consisted of around 4-5 people as well so it was an evenly matched game. When defending on this map, my friend and I had a general system where he would defend the server room while I defended the main casino floor. Basically, I was the first line of defence while he was the second.
I had setup the match so that all weapon options were available (for some reason, a lot of people disabled the tech gadgets or explosives in this game). Just for kicks, I grabbed some frags and the GPS locator which, when activated, shows the position of enemies on your radar for a short time provided that the enemy doesn't have a GPS blocker.
For reference, here is a quick drawing of the map layout based on my spotty memory.
As soon as the game started, I activated my GPS and found that nobody on the opposing team had a GPS blocker. I had a general idea of how to defend this map and what options the attacking team to breach the casino floor from playing this map before. I also had a sneaky idea which I wanted to try out.
Taking advantage of the initial extra setup time that the defending team has, I made a dash for point A on the map. As I hunkered down into cover behind the slot machines, I activated my GPS again and sure enough, I found 2 enemies who were getting ready to breach into the room via the windows at point B. When I heard the tink of the windows being broken, I threw a grenade to point C. The timing was perfect as the two guys got there just as the grenade went off. I managed to get two easy kills with one very satisfying grenade.
As I sat there chuckling to myself, I wondered if they had noticed me. If they hadn't, it would be a great opportunity to get another two easy kills so I decided to hang around. After a short countdown, I activated my GPS again and noticed two guys getting ready to breach into the room via the windows at point B again.
Alas, it was too good to be true. They had actually spotted me and this time, they made a beeline straight for my position. R6V is the kind of game where even a couple of bullets will kill you so I have to admit that at that point, I thought I was toast. Still, I blind-fired half a clip as they were approaching and by sheer luck, managed to kill one of them as they were closing in although I did take a bullet in the arm. As the other one came in for the kill, I leapt out of cover and strafed left while emptying my remaining clip in his general directi9on (yes, I admit, this was a desperate move - sue me). My screen went black (indicating I was almost dead) but the message flashed up on screen "Jokemeister killed xxx".
I couldn't believe it! Although I almost died, I managed to fend off two attackers. At this point, I beat a hasty retreat and moved to point D on the map which was my secondary line of defence. Point D is a good place for defence as you can't get flanked from that position unless the attackers go all the way through the server room and come at you from behind.
From that point, I managed to hold off a steady stream of attackers. However, one incident sticks out in my mind. In one case, there was an attacker at point E hiding just behind the archway so I couldn't shoot him. Unfortunately, the git threw a flash bang and blinded me which really left me with limited options. I could either retreat and hope my vision recovered before he stormed up and killed me or I could take a huge gamble.
As the motto goes - who dares wins! I popped out from cover and rattled off some shots in the area where the attackers head would be assuming he had popped out of cover to try and shoot me. The message flashed on screen - "Jokemeister killed xxx" - and I couldn't help but scream "Yeah" which got me a nasty look from the missus for disturbing the peace.
After fending off a few more attackers, I was actually starting to run out of ammo in my assault rifle. I was down to my last half clip when I heard one of the strangers on my team ask, "Where the hell are the attackers?" (which caught me by surprise as up till then, the two strangers on the team had been completely silent).
Before I could say anything, the other stranger answered "Yeah, there's one guy upstairs in the corridor holding them all off."
Taking this opportunity, I flicked on my mic and yelled down the line, "and that guy needs help as I'm about to run out of ammo!". I can't remember but, in the heat of the moment, I may even have thrown in a swear word. Maybe.
Thinking about it now, I actually feel an immense amount of pride at how well I had been doing. However, at the time, I distinctly remember thinking "What the f#&k have you guys been doing if nobody has been attacking the server room?"
Anyway, one of the other guys immediately heads up to help defend the corridor so I head out to the main casino floor to pick up an assault rifle from one of the dead bodies (it wasn't one I normally used but it was better than having to use my pistol). It was at this point that I realised that there was nobody around on the casino floor which meant the attacking team had finally given up on breaching the corridor and was now trying to reach the server room via a different route.
The game ended soon after this and suffice to say that the defending team won. By the end of the game, I had 15+ kills with no deaths (I can't remember exactly how many kills I had but I know it was 15+ as I got an achievement for this). I was also, far and away, the best player in that match and it felt really good when, in the lobby afterwards, some of the enemy players commented on how good I was.
Good times.
Addendum
I should add that the above is one of those freak occurrences when everything just clicked. I was extremely lucky in a couple of situations not to die and it really was by sheer luck that I managed to do so well. The reality is that when I jump online, I am generally in the bottom half of the rankings and have come last on more than one occasion.
Still, it feels great to have pwned everyone.
:D
This particular game was a match of Retrieval on the casino map. The casino map itself has 3 levels. The top level is the roof which is where the attacking team spawns in. The middle level is the main casino floor and has a spawn room for the defending team. The lowest floor is the control room of the casino and, along with another spawn point for the defending team, is where the server room is located. The objective for the attacking team is to retrieve a hard drive from the server room and then extract to the roof to escape by helicopter. It goes without saying that the job of the defending team is to prevent the hard disk from being extracted.
In this particular match, I was on the defending team along with a friend and two strangers. The attacking team consisted of around 4-5 people as well so it was an evenly matched game. When defending on this map, my friend and I had a general system where he would defend the server room while I defended the main casino floor. Basically, I was the first line of defence while he was the second.
I had setup the match so that all weapon options were available (for some reason, a lot of people disabled the tech gadgets or explosives in this game). Just for kicks, I grabbed some frags and the GPS locator which, when activated, shows the position of enemies on your radar for a short time provided that the enemy doesn't have a GPS blocker.
For reference, here is a quick drawing of the map layout based on my spotty memory.
As soon as the game started, I activated my GPS and found that nobody on the opposing team had a GPS blocker. I had a general idea of how to defend this map and what options the attacking team to breach the casino floor from playing this map before. I also had a sneaky idea which I wanted to try out.
Taking advantage of the initial extra setup time that the defending team has, I made a dash for point A on the map. As I hunkered down into cover behind the slot machines, I activated my GPS again and sure enough, I found 2 enemies who were getting ready to breach into the room via the windows at point B. When I heard the tink of the windows being broken, I threw a grenade to point C. The timing was perfect as the two guys got there just as the grenade went off. I managed to get two easy kills with one very satisfying grenade.
As I sat there chuckling to myself, I wondered if they had noticed me. If they hadn't, it would be a great opportunity to get another two easy kills so I decided to hang around. After a short countdown, I activated my GPS again and noticed two guys getting ready to breach into the room via the windows at point B again.
Alas, it was too good to be true. They had actually spotted me and this time, they made a beeline straight for my position. R6V is the kind of game where even a couple of bullets will kill you so I have to admit that at that point, I thought I was toast. Still, I blind-fired half a clip as they were approaching and by sheer luck, managed to kill one of them as they were closing in although I did take a bullet in the arm. As the other one came in for the kill, I leapt out of cover and strafed left while emptying my remaining clip in his general directi9on (yes, I admit, this was a desperate move - sue me). My screen went black (indicating I was almost dead) but the message flashed up on screen "Jokemeister killed xxx".
I couldn't believe it! Although I almost died, I managed to fend off two attackers. At this point, I beat a hasty retreat and moved to point D on the map which was my secondary line of defence. Point D is a good place for defence as you can't get flanked from that position unless the attackers go all the way through the server room and come at you from behind.
From that point, I managed to hold off a steady stream of attackers. However, one incident sticks out in my mind. In one case, there was an attacker at point E hiding just behind the archway so I couldn't shoot him. Unfortunately, the git threw a flash bang and blinded me which really left me with limited options. I could either retreat and hope my vision recovered before he stormed up and killed me or I could take a huge gamble.
As the motto goes - who dares wins! I popped out from cover and rattled off some shots in the area where the attackers head would be assuming he had popped out of cover to try and shoot me. The message flashed on screen - "Jokemeister killed xxx" - and I couldn't help but scream "Yeah" which got me a nasty look from the missus for disturbing the peace.
After fending off a few more attackers, I was actually starting to run out of ammo in my assault rifle. I was down to my last half clip when I heard one of the strangers on my team ask, "Where the hell are the attackers?" (which caught me by surprise as up till then, the two strangers on the team had been completely silent).
Before I could say anything, the other stranger answered "Yeah, there's one guy upstairs in the corridor holding them all off."
Taking this opportunity, I flicked on my mic and yelled down the line, "and that guy needs help as I'm about to run out of ammo!". I can't remember but, in the heat of the moment, I may even have thrown in a swear word. Maybe.
Thinking about it now, I actually feel an immense amount of pride at how well I had been doing. However, at the time, I distinctly remember thinking "What the f#&k have you guys been doing if nobody has been attacking the server room?"
Anyway, one of the other guys immediately heads up to help defend the corridor so I head out to the main casino floor to pick up an assault rifle from one of the dead bodies (it wasn't one I normally used but it was better than having to use my pistol). It was at this point that I realised that there was nobody around on the casino floor which meant the attacking team had finally given up on breaching the corridor and was now trying to reach the server room via a different route.
The game ended soon after this and suffice to say that the defending team won. By the end of the game, I had 15+ kills with no deaths (I can't remember exactly how many kills I had but I know it was 15+ as I got an achievement for this). I was also, far and away, the best player in that match and it felt really good when, in the lobby afterwards, some of the enemy players commented on how good I was.
Good times.
Addendum
I should add that the above is one of those freak occurrences when everything just clicked. I was extremely lucky in a couple of situations not to die and it really was by sheer luck that I managed to do so well. The reality is that when I jump online, I am generally in the bottom half of the rankings and have come last on more than one occasion.
Still, it feels great to have pwned everyone.
:D
Monday, March 1, 2010
Mass Effect 2 - impressions
Mass Effect 2 was recently released and you know what that means. That's right - the bitch is back! Unfortunately, Liara is no longer a playable NPC so I had to pick someone else to round out my bitch brigade but my femshep is definately back in business and kicking ass!
Anyways, some quick impressions below before I go back to the adventures of Aladuchar next week.
The Good
Combat much improved
BioWare clearly listened to a lot of the complaints about combat in the first game and really went all out in making this game a much better shooter. The action in this game clearly kicks it up a notch compared to the relatively poor shooter action in the first ME. For ME, my comment was that the gameplay was better than I expected. However, for ME2, I can honestly say that the gameplay is actually quite good. Admittedly, its still not as good as some of the dedicated shooters, like Gears of War, but the story and RPG elements easily make up for the difference (although this would clearly depend on your personal preference).
As an aside, there is a very interesting article about this on The Escapist which talks about how shooter games should copy the story elements from games like ME2. Worth a read if you have time as I would love to see more games like this.
Characters
The characters are also a good mix of interesting personalities. Although its subtle, I think the characters in ME2 are a bit better than those in ME. This is no surprise though considering that character and dialogue have long been one of BioWare's strengths.
Having said that, I still would have liked more conversations with the characters as it seems that they run out of things to say a bit too quickly.
Continuation of Shep story
I love the fact that this is a direct continuation of the Shepard that I developed in the original ME. A lot of the decisions that I made in the first ME game are reflected in ME2.
What makes this element stand out though are the quests which arise directly as a result of decisions made in the first game. There are a couple of instances where I ran into people from the first game and they had a quest for me which would not have been available had I made a different decision in the first game. At times like this, you really start to feel like you are playing a personalised trilogy with your character as the main hero (or heroine as the case may be).
BioWare humour
I bet you didn't expect this.
This game is hilariously funny when it wants to be. There are a couple of spots where something is done for comedic effect and surprisingly, BioWare was able to pull it off really well. I'm not going to give any specifics here as the humour in this game has to be experienced (any retelling of it by me just wouldn't do it justice). Admittedly, ymmv depending on the type of humour you enjoy.
The Bad
Storyline
With all the praise though, I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the story. Maybe it was because I just finished playing DAO which had a similar theme in terms of you going around getting allies, but the bulk of the story in ME2 revolves around you going around the galaxy putting together a team who can take on the Big Bad. After getting the team, you then go on a (optional) mission for each team member which makes that team member loyal to you if you resolve the mission in a satisfactory manner.
This just didn't feel very epic especially compared to the storyline in the first ME and makes the game feel like it lacks intensity. In fact, the game only really ramps up in intensity when you take on the main storyline missions in pursuit of the Big Bad. In defence, the end missions when you finally take on the Big Bad are frakking superb and really left me leaving this game on a high and looking forward to ME3.
Mission end screens
One of the things I really didn't like was the mission end screen. At the end of every mission (be it main quest or side quest), a screen will pop up telling you that you have completed the mission. This mission end screen details the key decisions you made during the mission (just in case you forgot what you did 5 minutes ago) and also tells you what swag you collected during the mission (just in case you didn't notice the huge pop-up informing you of this at the time).
The mission end screen also serves to remind you that you are playing a game and that you aren't really Commander Shepard. Thanks BioWare.
Planet scanning
Yeesh - where do I start with this! Just in case you didn't know, BioWare introduced a planet scanning minigame which you have to go through in order to get enough resources to research upgrades. You have to do this as you can fail the game if the Normandy (your starship) isn't upgraded enough to survive the final battle with one of the Big Bad starships.
The problem is that the planet scanning minigame is so tedious. On the X360, you have to move a cursor slowly over a planet looking for a spike on your resource radar. While moving the cursor, you have to pulse the left trigger (as the left trigger starts the scan). While scanning, the cursor moves at a snails pace. Hell, even without scanning, the cursor moves at a snails pace! Even on my first playthrough, I was getting bored to tears after scanning several planets.
Why can't an aide do it? Or the onboard AI? I mean, I'm supposed to be the Commander of the Normandy, tasked with saving humanity, and I can't get someone to scan a planet for me?
Anyways, some quick impressions below before I go back to the adventures of Aladuchar next week.
The Good
Combat much improved
BioWare clearly listened to a lot of the complaints about combat in the first game and really went all out in making this game a much better shooter. The action in this game clearly kicks it up a notch compared to the relatively poor shooter action in the first ME. For ME, my comment was that the gameplay was better than I expected. However, for ME2, I can honestly say that the gameplay is actually quite good. Admittedly, its still not as good as some of the dedicated shooters, like Gears of War, but the story and RPG elements easily make up for the difference (although this would clearly depend on your personal preference).
As an aside, there is a very interesting article about this on The Escapist which talks about how shooter games should copy the story elements from games like ME2. Worth a read if you have time as I would love to see more games like this.
Characters
The characters are also a good mix of interesting personalities. Although its subtle, I think the characters in ME2 are a bit better than those in ME. This is no surprise though considering that character and dialogue have long been one of BioWare's strengths.
Having said that, I still would have liked more conversations with the characters as it seems that they run out of things to say a bit too quickly.
Continuation of Shep story
I love the fact that this is a direct continuation of the Shepard that I developed in the original ME. A lot of the decisions that I made in the first ME game are reflected in ME2.
What makes this element stand out though are the quests which arise directly as a result of decisions made in the first game. There are a couple of instances where I ran into people from the first game and they had a quest for me which would not have been available had I made a different decision in the first game. At times like this, you really start to feel like you are playing a personalised trilogy with your character as the main hero (or heroine as the case may be).
BioWare humour
I bet you didn't expect this.
This game is hilariously funny when it wants to be. There are a couple of spots where something is done for comedic effect and surprisingly, BioWare was able to pull it off really well. I'm not going to give any specifics here as the humour in this game has to be experienced (any retelling of it by me just wouldn't do it justice). Admittedly, ymmv depending on the type of humour you enjoy.
The Bad
Storyline
With all the praise though, I have to admit to being a little disappointed with the story. Maybe it was because I just finished playing DAO which had a similar theme in terms of you going around getting allies, but the bulk of the story in ME2 revolves around you going around the galaxy putting together a team who can take on the Big Bad. After getting the team, you then go on a (optional) mission for each team member which makes that team member loyal to you if you resolve the mission in a satisfactory manner.
This just didn't feel very epic especially compared to the storyline in the first ME and makes the game feel like it lacks intensity. In fact, the game only really ramps up in intensity when you take on the main storyline missions in pursuit of the Big Bad. In defence, the end missions when you finally take on the Big Bad are frakking superb and really left me leaving this game on a high and looking forward to ME3.
Mission end screens
One of the things I really didn't like was the mission end screen. At the end of every mission (be it main quest or side quest), a screen will pop up telling you that you have completed the mission. This mission end screen details the key decisions you made during the mission (just in case you forgot what you did 5 minutes ago) and also tells you what swag you collected during the mission (just in case you didn't notice the huge pop-up informing you of this at the time).
The mission end screen also serves to remind you that you are playing a game and that you aren't really Commander Shepard. Thanks BioWare.
Planet scanning
Yeesh - where do I start with this! Just in case you didn't know, BioWare introduced a planet scanning minigame which you have to go through in order to get enough resources to research upgrades. You have to do this as you can fail the game if the Normandy (your starship) isn't upgraded enough to survive the final battle with one of the Big Bad starships.
The problem is that the planet scanning minigame is so tedious. On the X360, you have to move a cursor slowly over a planet looking for a spike on your resource radar. While moving the cursor, you have to pulse the left trigger (as the left trigger starts the scan). While scanning, the cursor moves at a snails pace. Hell, even without scanning, the cursor moves at a snails pace! Even on my first playthrough, I was getting bored to tears after scanning several planets.
Why can't an aide do it? Or the onboard AI? I mean, I'm supposed to be the Commander of the Normandy, tasked with saving humanity, and I can't get someone to scan a planet for me?
As an aside, the comments by the OP in this thread are hilarious in how true they appear to be.
Helmets
Another incomprehensible decision here.
In the buildup for ME2, one of the things that BioWare put emphasis on was how much effort they put into building facial expressions for characters. Instead of just relying on words, they were now able to express emotions with the faces. And in many cases, this is true - my femshep spends a lot of time scowling at people. Great idea which really adds to the RP right?
Bearing in mind the above, you have to wonder which moron approved the game mechanic design around helmets in this game. In ME2, you have customisable armor which allows you to mix and match your armor. The headpiece, chestpiece, arms and legs can all be mixed to give you different bonuses. Unfortunately, if you pick any helmet which covers the head, that helmet doesn't toggle off for cutscreens (something which they did for DAO). This in itself isn't a big deal as you can just forgo the minor bonus for the helmet.
However, BioWare then decide to inflame the fan base even further by releasing loads of bonus armor. All of the bonus armor to date are designed to look really cool but aren't customisable in any way (apparently, this is to avoid clipping with the models in game) which is no big deal as the bonus armors have special bonuses of their own anyway. The real kicker though is that the helmet is perma-on and cannot be removed. So your choice is to have a nice looking armor with some minor bonuses or instead, you can actually see your shepard talk to people.
In case it isn't clear from my bitching, all of my bonus armor went straight back in the cupboard (although I may pull them out for the insanity playthrough).
The thing is, I just don't understand how you can make such a fuck up in game design considering that the facial expressions was one of the things that the designers themselves spent so much time on improving.
Lots of decisions only result in news or email
My last nitpick with the game is that, although a lot of decisions from ME carry over, most of them only have a minimal impact on the game. For example, in most cases, you hear about the impact via a newscast or an email which you might receive. I would love for more quests to be dependent on stuff which happened in the first ME as, for the occasions where this did occur, I felt really invested in both the character and the game.
Overall
Despite it looking like I have more complaints than praise, you have to realise that a lot of the complaints are a bit nitpicky. The reality is that ME2 is a great game and, in my opinion, a noticeable improvement over the first ME. To be fair, this may depend on your own preferences as BioWare streamlined a lot of the common RPG mechanics in order to make the gameplay flow better and faster. Ultimately though, I found it really difficult to put this game down and go to bed at night (or in the wee hours of the morning as was usually the case).
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2
You may recall that I purchased Rainbow Six: Vegas a while back when it was released as a platinum hit (i.e. budget title). I thought R6:V was a great game and since then, I've been keeping an eye out and hoping that R6:V2 would be released as a platinum hit as well. Unfortunately, it never was so I never bought the sequel until recently when I saw it for sale second hand.
Although the game is called Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, at times, it feels more like Rainbow Six: Vegas 1.5. Having just completed the singleplayer campaign, the only difference that I could tell was that you could now sprint over short distances. Other than this, pretty much everything else feels the same.
Having said that, the gameplay has stood the test of time and its still an awesome experience to setup your elite anti-terrorist squad and then breach and clear a room of tangos. Which isn't to say that I don't have any gripes although in the games defence, my gripes aren't really the fault of the game per se.
All of my gripes arise basically from the fact that the game still isn't a platinum hit. You see, believe it or not, this actually makes a big difference. How? Let me explain.
The advantage of the first R6:V being on budget was that there were loads of new players as lots of people took advantage of the budget price point to buy the game. This led to 2 big differences.
Firstly, in coop gameplay. With the first R6:V, when I jumped online to play coop, there were tons of games for me to choose from and it was pretty easy to find a coop game to play. For R6:V2, although I've tried several times, I haven't really had a chance to play coop yet which is a real shame because, as with R6:V, this game could really shine in a coop environment.
The second big difference is in multiplayer. With the first R6:V, when I jumped online, there were loads of games which had several noobs in the lobby (admittedly, of which I was one). This meant that there was a chance of a competitive game. At the moment, I can imagine myself getting slaughtered by all the hardcore experienced fans who are still playing this game a year after release and whom are all intimately familiar with the game and the maps.
Which brings me onto my third gripe. I deliberately used the word "imagine" in the para above because I haven't actually played online yet. When I jumped online to play a game of multiplayer, there were quite a few lobbies to choose from - the problem was that the ping times were all red. In other words, not only would I have to play against people who are experienced with the game, I would also have to do it while suffering major lag.
At this point, I just thought "fuggedaboutit" and logged out.
Although the game is called Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, at times, it feels more like Rainbow Six: Vegas 1.5. Having just completed the singleplayer campaign, the only difference that I could tell was that you could now sprint over short distances. Other than this, pretty much everything else feels the same.
Having said that, the gameplay has stood the test of time and its still an awesome experience to setup your elite anti-terrorist squad and then breach and clear a room of tangos. Which isn't to say that I don't have any gripes although in the games defence, my gripes aren't really the fault of the game per se.
All of my gripes arise basically from the fact that the game still isn't a platinum hit. You see, believe it or not, this actually makes a big difference. How? Let me explain.
The advantage of the first R6:V being on budget was that there were loads of new players as lots of people took advantage of the budget price point to buy the game. This led to 2 big differences.
Firstly, in coop gameplay. With the first R6:V, when I jumped online to play coop, there were tons of games for me to choose from and it was pretty easy to find a coop game to play. For R6:V2, although I've tried several times, I haven't really had a chance to play coop yet which is a real shame because, as with R6:V, this game could really shine in a coop environment.
The second big difference is in multiplayer. With the first R6:V, when I jumped online, there were loads of games which had several noobs in the lobby (admittedly, of which I was one). This meant that there was a chance of a competitive game. At the moment, I can imagine myself getting slaughtered by all the hardcore experienced fans who are still playing this game a year after release and whom are all intimately familiar with the game and the maps.
Which brings me onto my third gripe. I deliberately used the word "imagine" in the para above because I haven't actually played online yet. When I jumped online to play a game of multiplayer, there were quite a few lobbies to choose from - the problem was that the ping times were all red. In other words, not only would I have to play against people who are experienced with the game, I would also have to do it while suffering major lag.
At this point, I just thought "fuggedaboutit" and logged out.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Gears of War 2 - Horde mode
Recently, I bumped into an old friend in the street. Turns out he recently bought an Xbox 360 and is playing GoW2 on it. Naturally, I immediately asked his gamertag and sent him a friend request.
As you can guess from the title, we met up recently online to play Horde mode in GoW2. Horde mode is kinda like old school arcade fun in that you and your buddies are dumped in a map and then tasked with surviving 50 rounds of increasingly hostile Locust. Horde mode takes the great gameplay of GoW2 and strips away any pretense of story - leaving you with 50 levels of awesome shoot em up action fun.
But not just shoot em up action fun. The sheer number of enemies in Horde mode means that the only way you have any hope of surviving is by working together as a team. If you can get a team that communicates and looks out for each other, playing Horde mode is an incredibly fun and addicting game.
We were playing on the River map - which is great for Horde mode as it has an old two level house with only one entrance to it. Basically, you would have 2-3 guys defending the entrance to the base while 1-2 guys go up to the second floor. The second floor generally has either the sniper rifle or a torque bow so you want to go to the house for the weapons anyway. Unfortunately, the second level isn't particularly safe as a large corner of the house has been blown away meaning people on the second floor are susceptible to gunfire from 2 directions.
We had four guys so I took the second floor while the other 3 held the front door. I was up there sniping enemies and reporting on enemy movement. Every once in a while, when the enemies rushed the front door (which is quite often), I would run down and help out on the main entrance. And then, when people needed to leave the house to get ammo (having an ammo box inside the house would admittedly have made it too easy), it was a mad rush to the ammo box while everyone else tried to lay down covering fire.
Awesome fun!
As you can guess from the title, we met up recently online to play Horde mode in GoW2. Horde mode is kinda like old school arcade fun in that you and your buddies are dumped in a map and then tasked with surviving 50 rounds of increasingly hostile Locust. Horde mode takes the great gameplay of GoW2 and strips away any pretense of story - leaving you with 50 levels of awesome shoot em up action fun.
But not just shoot em up action fun. The sheer number of enemies in Horde mode means that the only way you have any hope of surviving is by working together as a team. If you can get a team that communicates and looks out for each other, playing Horde mode is an incredibly fun and addicting game.
We were playing on the River map - which is great for Horde mode as it has an old two level house with only one entrance to it. Basically, you would have 2-3 guys defending the entrance to the base while 1-2 guys go up to the second floor. The second floor generally has either the sniper rifle or a torque bow so you want to go to the house for the weapons anyway. Unfortunately, the second level isn't particularly safe as a large corner of the house has been blown away meaning people on the second floor are susceptible to gunfire from 2 directions.
We had four guys so I took the second floor while the other 3 held the front door. I was up there sniping enemies and reporting on enemy movement. Every once in a while, when the enemies rushed the front door (which is quite often), I would run down and help out on the main entrance. And then, when people needed to leave the house to get ammo (having an ammo box inside the house would admittedly have made it too easy), it was a mad rush to the ammo box while everyone else tried to lay down covering fire.
Awesome fun!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
GRAW 2
Another game which I got on the cheap recently is Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. GRAW 2 is another tactical FPS in the Tom Clancy franchise. The Ghost Recon series is based on the premise that you are a soldier in an elite squad of special forces unit called, surprising enough, Ghost Recon. As a member of the elite Ghosts, you are generally sent behind enemy lines on missions where utmost secrecy is required (hence the Ghost designation). What makes the GRAW series different from earlier Ghost Recon games is that GRAW is set sometime in the future which opens up funky new technology for your elite units.
Storywise, the game picks up right after the events of GRAW. In short, Mexico and the USA are about to sign a joint security agreement which will allow the US to officially send troops into Mexico. Certain rebel elements aren't happy about this and try to disrupt proceedings via the use of some stolen nukes. The US aren't going to let anything disrupt the signing of the joint security agreement hence the Ghosts are sent into Mexico on a black ops mission to deal with the rebels and the stolen nukes.
Like Rainbow Six: Vegas, GRAW 2 is very much focused on tactical gameplay. If you want to succeed, its important that you move your team into position before opening fire on the enemy. And just like R6:V, this equates into great gameplay particularly when you evaluate the situation and successfully plan out how you and your squad will attack the enemy. Although this is a good game, there are a couple of issues which prevent it from becoming a great game.
First off, GRAW 2 is surprisingly easy. Even on the hardest difficulty setting, I found myself breezing through the singleplayer campaign. Provided you take your time and play strategically, the enemy just doesn't provide much challenge. In fact, the only time I found myself challenged on the singleplayer campaign was when I was replaying the game and trying to get headshots using minimal number of shots fired for a higher score. The extra time it takes to aim for the head and not miss means that I'm exposed for longer and hence more likely to get shot.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is unbelievably short. Granted, this is just a guess, but I estimate I completed the singleplayer campaign in six hours or less. This is frankly piss poor considering most other FPS games are in the region of 8-12 hours. To be fair, I knew this going into the game as most reviews did comment on how short the campaign is.
The third problem is the multiplayer. Just like with R6:V multiplayer, the multiplayer portion of GRAW 2 is disconnected from the singleplayer. However, for GRAW 2, the disconnect is different in nature. The problem with R6:V multiplayer was that it felt like a different game from the singleplayer campaign as it devolved into a run and gun game. The problem with GRAW 2 multiplayer is that it is literally a different game.
You see, the problem arises because the multiplayer portion of the game was developed separately from the singleplayer portion. And it really shows. For example, cover is a hugely important part of the singleplayer campaign. But in the multiplayer mode, the cover mechanism is missing. Another example are weapons with sniper scopes. In the singleplayer campaign, you need to hold your breath to aim properly. In multiplayer, again, this mechanism is missing.
The problem with this is that the gameplay in multiplayer feels completely different from the singleplayer. Having said that, you have to give credit to the developers of the multiplayer portion as, unlike R6:V, despite the differences from the singleplayer mode, multiplayer doesn't feel as much like a run and gun game. The biggest reason for this is probably the fact that the maps in GRAW 2 are relatively large and not set indoors which means that a proper strategy is still more important than a fast trigger finger.
Despite the above problems, I do have to say that this is a good game. Considering that I got it for only $120 (second-hand), the fact that it has a short singleplayer campaign isn't such a problem. Overall, a thumb's up from the Meister - but only if you can get it for cheap!
Storywise, the game picks up right after the events of GRAW. In short, Mexico and the USA are about to sign a joint security agreement which will allow the US to officially send troops into Mexico. Certain rebel elements aren't happy about this and try to disrupt proceedings via the use of some stolen nukes. The US aren't going to let anything disrupt the signing of the joint security agreement hence the Ghosts are sent into Mexico on a black ops mission to deal with the rebels and the stolen nukes.
Like Rainbow Six: Vegas, GRAW 2 is very much focused on tactical gameplay. If you want to succeed, its important that you move your team into position before opening fire on the enemy. And just like R6:V, this equates into great gameplay particularly when you evaluate the situation and successfully plan out how you and your squad will attack the enemy. Although this is a good game, there are a couple of issues which prevent it from becoming a great game.
First off, GRAW 2 is surprisingly easy. Even on the hardest difficulty setting, I found myself breezing through the singleplayer campaign. Provided you take your time and play strategically, the enemy just doesn't provide much challenge. In fact, the only time I found myself challenged on the singleplayer campaign was when I was replaying the game and trying to get headshots using minimal number of shots fired for a higher score. The extra time it takes to aim for the head and not miss means that I'm exposed for longer and hence more likely to get shot.
The other problem with the campaign is that it is unbelievably short. Granted, this is just a guess, but I estimate I completed the singleplayer campaign in six hours or less. This is frankly piss poor considering most other FPS games are in the region of 8-12 hours. To be fair, I knew this going into the game as most reviews did comment on how short the campaign is.
The third problem is the multiplayer. Just like with R6:V multiplayer, the multiplayer portion of GRAW 2 is disconnected from the singleplayer. However, for GRAW 2, the disconnect is different in nature. The problem with R6:V multiplayer was that it felt like a different game from the singleplayer campaign as it devolved into a run and gun game. The problem with GRAW 2 multiplayer is that it is literally a different game.
You see, the problem arises because the multiplayer portion of the game was developed separately from the singleplayer portion. And it really shows. For example, cover is a hugely important part of the singleplayer campaign. But in the multiplayer mode, the cover mechanism is missing. Another example are weapons with sniper scopes. In the singleplayer campaign, you need to hold your breath to aim properly. In multiplayer, again, this mechanism is missing.
The problem with this is that the gameplay in multiplayer feels completely different from the singleplayer. Having said that, you have to give credit to the developers of the multiplayer portion as, unlike R6:V, despite the differences from the singleplayer mode, multiplayer doesn't feel as much like a run and gun game. The biggest reason for this is probably the fact that the maps in GRAW 2 are relatively large and not set indoors which means that a proper strategy is still more important than a fast trigger finger.
Despite the above problems, I do have to say that this is a good game. Considering that I got it for only $120 (second-hand), the fact that it has a short singleplayer campaign isn't such a problem. Overall, a thumb's up from the Meister - but only if you can get it for cheap!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Resident evil 5 demo
Another month passes and another blockbuster title is released on the X360. The Resident Evil series finally made its debut on Microsofts console in the form of Resident Evil 5.
The Resident Evil series has long been lauded as one of the premier survival horror games and is probably responsible for the launch of the genre. Although I've never been a fan of the series, I downloaded the demo on Xbox Live to give it a trial run. And unfortunately for RE5, this doesn't look like its going to be the game that will convert me into a fan of the franchise.
If you know anything about the RE franchise, then you can probably already guess what the problem is - the clunky control scheme. The control scheme is quite frankly ridiculously bad. At this point, I should mention that I don't mind the fact that you can't run and gun (in case you didn't know, you have to stop and aim before you can fire your weapon in this game).
What does bother me is that your character moves in a clumsy manner. Unlike almost every other FPS (or TPS for that matter), the left stick is used to move forwards and backwards and to turn left or right. Yup, that's right - no strafe. To avoid an onrushing zombie, you have to turn left or right and turn run forwards. At this point in time, I just can't understand why anyone would make a game using such a clumsy control scheme considering almost every other game in existence has switched. Even Doom, which was released a millenia ago, had a better control scheme!
And then there's the knife melee attack. To use the knife melee, you have to move within range of the zombie, press 2 buttons in order to equip the knife and then press a third button in order to slash the zombie. Oh, and if you are out of range, then you have to put your knife away, move forward and then repeat the process. In a game where ammo is in short supply, this is just stupid.
The thing is, even fans of the RE franchise all seem to either implicitly or explicitly agree that the control scheme is bad. However, the most common reply from fans when faced with this complaint is that the game is still great despite the poor control scheme.
For example, Tom Russo said (when he was on the Bonus Round) that the complaints against the control scheme are unfounded because the game's difficulty is tailored to the control scheme. All this means is that even the developers agree the control scheme is poor and had to lower the difficulty of the game so that players could still play the game.
The sad thing is that I can really see the potential behind this game. It's got great graphics, some great cinematics, oodles of atmosphere, an interesting story and what looks like a pretty cool co-op mode. And the fact that the franchise has so many fans, despite the control scheme, is a testament to how good the game is once you get past the control scheme.
The problem is that, as I've said before, I suffer from having too many great games to play and nowhere near enough time to play them all. If you put a barrier to entry (such as a clunky control scheme), then my response is simply - Adios, there are other awesome games which I can, and will, play before I have to put up with "adapting" to the shitty controls.
The Resident Evil series has long been lauded as one of the premier survival horror games and is probably responsible for the launch of the genre. Although I've never been a fan of the series, I downloaded the demo on Xbox Live to give it a trial run. And unfortunately for RE5, this doesn't look like its going to be the game that will convert me into a fan of the franchise.
If you know anything about the RE franchise, then you can probably already guess what the problem is - the clunky control scheme. The control scheme is quite frankly ridiculously bad. At this point, I should mention that I don't mind the fact that you can't run and gun (in case you didn't know, you have to stop and aim before you can fire your weapon in this game).
What does bother me is that your character moves in a clumsy manner. Unlike almost every other FPS (or TPS for that matter), the left stick is used to move forwards and backwards and to turn left or right. Yup, that's right - no strafe. To avoid an onrushing zombie, you have to turn left or right and turn run forwards. At this point in time, I just can't understand why anyone would make a game using such a clumsy control scheme considering almost every other game in existence has switched. Even Doom, which was released a millenia ago, had a better control scheme!
And then there's the knife melee attack. To use the knife melee, you have to move within range of the zombie, press 2 buttons in order to equip the knife and then press a third button in order to slash the zombie. Oh, and if you are out of range, then you have to put your knife away, move forward and then repeat the process. In a game where ammo is in short supply, this is just stupid.
The thing is, even fans of the RE franchise all seem to either implicitly or explicitly agree that the control scheme is bad. However, the most common reply from fans when faced with this complaint is that the game is still great despite the poor control scheme.
For example, Tom Russo said (when he was on the Bonus Round) that the complaints against the control scheme are unfounded because the game's difficulty is tailored to the control scheme. All this means is that even the developers agree the control scheme is poor and had to lower the difficulty of the game so that players could still play the game.
The sad thing is that I can really see the potential behind this game. It's got great graphics, some great cinematics, oodles of atmosphere, an interesting story and what looks like a pretty cool co-op mode. And the fact that the franchise has so many fans, despite the control scheme, is a testament to how good the game is once you get past the control scheme.
The problem is that, as I've said before, I suffer from having too many great games to play and nowhere near enough time to play them all. If you put a barrier to entry (such as a clunky control scheme), then my response is simply - Adios, there are other awesome games which I can, and will, play before I have to put up with "adapting" to the shitty controls.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Gears of War 2 - singleplayer
Two years after the release of Gears of War, Epic Games have given us the sequel to their stop-n-pop tactical action masterpiece. And although the juxtaposition of tactical and action may seem strange - it applies perfectly in this case.
So far, I've been mainly playing campaign so my comments will focus on the singleplayer and co-op campaign mode. Multiplayer commentary to come in a later post.
The short version of this is - Yes, Epic Games have delivered a fantastic sequel worthy of the GoW franchise. And just like before, if you like action games and own an X360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game.
Story
The story picks up shortly after the end of the original Gears of War. By the end of the first game, you were able to kill the bad guys, bed the hot girls, cause mass destruction (using that funky new missile technology I talked about in my original review) and basically save the day. Actually, you don't get to bed any hot girls but hey, three out of four ain't bad (kinda like a modern Bond film, really!).
Unfortunately, that new missile tech doesn't actually kill off all the Locust (fancy that, military intelligence screwing up. I never would have guessed that would happen...). All it seems to do is really piss off the Locust as they are now launching an all out offensive against Jacinto, humanity's last remaining bastion of civilisation and beacon of hope for all humanity. Reinforcements are low and hopes are grim. Basically, the Locust are one step away from wiping out all humanity and playing Dance Dance Revolution on our grave.
By this point in the narrative, the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) has its back to the wall and has to resort to desperate measures if humanity is to have any hope of survival. The COG does the only thing it can do. It takes all remaining soldiers and launches an all out offensive against the Locust stronghold.
What a brilliant idea! I'm sure the Gears will only run into minimal resistance as they attack the Locust stronghold. After all, all the Locust will be surrounding Jacinto. Take that Locust! All our base are not belong to you!!!
And this is basically where the game starts. Reprising the role of Marcus Fenix, your job is to take your squad and attack the queen inside the Locust stronghold. Along the way, Dominic Santiago will be looking for his wife and, surprise surprise, the two routes actually converge. Over the course of the campaign, you will kill the bad guys, bed the hot girls, cause mass destruction and basically save the day again. Well, three out of four ain't bad right?
One of the design goals for GoW2 was apparently to make it "bigger, better and more badass". And you really see this come through in the campaign. In addition to the campaign itself being significantly longer, Epic Games have taken full advantage of advancements in their Unreal Engine technology. There are several scenes during the campaign where you are literally facing off against a Locust horde - something they were unable to do in the first game due to the limited number of locust the graphics engine could put on screen.
The other big thing that Epic Games tried to do with GoW2 was to make the storyline more emotional. This is basically where Dom's search for his missing wife comes in. During the course of the campaign, various cinematics detail Dom's and his emotions as he searches desperately for his wife. Unfortunately, the absolutely hammy script and godawful acting prevent you from actually feeling any of the emotions which Epic tried to invoke (although admittedly, the scene where Dom finally succeeds and actually finds his wife is done quite well).
To quote from my first GoW review - Story has always taken second fiddle in action games so I suppose its no surprise that GoW(2) didn't buck the trend.
Gameplay
The gameplay in the first GoW was, to be perfectly honest, superb. In fact, it was so good that, even if Epic didn't make any changes to the gameplay, they could still probably release GoW2 and have a best seller on their hands. Luckily for gamers everywhere, the people at Epic Games aren't quite as lazy as I am and have made a host of tweaks to the gameplay mechanics.
One of the most noticable tweaks is with the cover system itself. With the original GoW, it was quite easy for Marcus to accidentally slide into cover when you were actually trying to roadie run past the cover. In Gow2, although it does still happens occasionally, there are much fewer instances of accidentally jumping into cover. Which is great as I signed up in order to fight the locust, not the controls...
Epic Games have also introduced lots of new toys for you to play around with. Unfortunately, most of the new weapons don't really shine until you get into multiplayer or co-op mode. The problem is that you can only carry two guns. In singleplayer mode, this means that you invariably choose one long range weapon and 1 short and medium range weapon. For long range, I generally prefer the sniper which means my other weapon will generally be the lancer (and its awesome chainsaw - after 2 years, I still love that chainsaw animation!!). Admittedly, this may just have been a problem with my preferences, but I definitely felt that the sniper and lancer combo gave me the best chance of surviving any situation.
However, if you play the campaign in co-op, the new weapons really start to add flavour. At this point, you can grab the other weapons safe in the knowledge that your partner can cover any shortcomings in your weapon pairing. For example, at one point during the campaign, I was armed with the sniper rifle and flamethrower while my partner had the torque bow and lancer.
Our tactics were generally for one guy to go forward and draw fire while the other guy gave covering fire. So if he moved forward, I would stay back with the sniper rifle and headshot any enemies attacking him. Alternatively, if I moved forward, I would use the flamethrower from behind cover (the constant stream of flame from the flamethrower means that it is very effective when blindfiring from behind cover) to burn enemies while safely behind cover. This would force the enemy out of cover and allow my partner to hit him with the torque bow. All in all, a great strategy which worked really well for the most part (we were playing co-op on Insane difficulty).
Of the new weapons, my favourite is without a doubt, the flamethrower - not because it is the most effective but because it looks the coolest. Unfortunately, as a close range weapon, it isn't as good as the lancer (with its instant kill chainsaw). However, the flamethrower just looks awesome. Whenever you use the flamethrower on someone, you first see them light up as they burn. And then if you get the kill using the flamethrower, the dead body is just a charred husk. Too freaking cool!!
Graphics
Again, Epic Games have raised the bar for graphics quality on the X360. Despite being on the same hardware, there is a very noticable upgrade in graphics from the original Gears to the sequel. Possibly, the upgrade in graphics is really noticable because the game is a 3rd person shooter so you really see Marcus (and the characters have an incredible amount of detail on them) up close in lots of situations.
The campaign has also been specially designed to show off the strengths of the Unreal engine. Throughout the campaign, you end up in some really wacky situations which you suspect the developers only thought up so that they could take advantage of the new features of the Unreal engine. Having said that, the lighting effects in this game are incredible. There are a couple of areas where the game is pitch black except for a light from a nearby vehicle or from Jack (your friendly robot AI whose main job is to open doors).
Summary
Another great game from Epic Games and it really looks like they have created another must-have franchise on the X360. Come the end of the year, I would be very surprised if GoW2 didn't pick up several awards in the various gaming publications (although there are some very good candidates this year - its been a good year for gaming).
As with the original GoW, if you like action games and own an X360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game.
So far, I've been mainly playing campaign so my comments will focus on the singleplayer and co-op campaign mode. Multiplayer commentary to come in a later post.
The short version of this is - Yes, Epic Games have delivered a fantastic sequel worthy of the GoW franchise. And just like before, if you like action games and own an X360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game.
Story
The story picks up shortly after the end of the original Gears of War. By the end of the first game, you were able to kill the bad guys, bed the hot girls, cause mass destruction (using that funky new missile technology I talked about in my original review) and basically save the day. Actually, you don't get to bed any hot girls but hey, three out of four ain't bad (kinda like a modern Bond film, really!).
Unfortunately, that new missile tech doesn't actually kill off all the Locust (fancy that, military intelligence screwing up. I never would have guessed that would happen...). All it seems to do is really piss off the Locust as they are now launching an all out offensive against Jacinto, humanity's last remaining bastion of civilisation and beacon of hope for all humanity. Reinforcements are low and hopes are grim. Basically, the Locust are one step away from wiping out all humanity and playing Dance Dance Revolution on our grave.
By this point in the narrative, the COG (Coalition of Ordered Governments) has its back to the wall and has to resort to desperate measures if humanity is to have any hope of survival. The COG does the only thing it can do. It takes all remaining soldiers and launches an all out offensive against the Locust stronghold.
What a brilliant idea! I'm sure the Gears will only run into minimal resistance as they attack the Locust stronghold. After all, all the Locust will be surrounding Jacinto. Take that Locust! All our base are not belong to you!!!
And this is basically where the game starts. Reprising the role of Marcus Fenix, your job is to take your squad and attack the queen inside the Locust stronghold. Along the way, Dominic Santiago will be looking for his wife and, surprise surprise, the two routes actually converge. Over the course of the campaign, you will kill the bad guys, bed the hot girls, cause mass destruction and basically save the day again. Well, three out of four ain't bad right?
One of the design goals for GoW2 was apparently to make it "bigger, better and more badass". And you really see this come through in the campaign. In addition to the campaign itself being significantly longer, Epic Games have taken full advantage of advancements in their Unreal Engine technology. There are several scenes during the campaign where you are literally facing off against a Locust horde - something they were unable to do in the first game due to the limited number of locust the graphics engine could put on screen.
The other big thing that Epic Games tried to do with GoW2 was to make the storyline more emotional. This is basically where Dom's search for his missing wife comes in. During the course of the campaign, various cinematics detail Dom's and his emotions as he searches desperately for his wife. Unfortunately, the absolutely hammy script and godawful acting prevent you from actually feeling any of the emotions which Epic tried to invoke (although admittedly, the scene where Dom finally succeeds and actually finds his wife is done quite well).
To quote from my first GoW review - Story has always taken second fiddle in action games so I suppose its no surprise that GoW(2) didn't buck the trend.
Gameplay
The gameplay in the first GoW was, to be perfectly honest, superb. In fact, it was so good that, even if Epic didn't make any changes to the gameplay, they could still probably release GoW2 and have a best seller on their hands. Luckily for gamers everywhere, the people at Epic Games aren't quite as lazy as I am and have made a host of tweaks to the gameplay mechanics.
One of the most noticable tweaks is with the cover system itself. With the original GoW, it was quite easy for Marcus to accidentally slide into cover when you were actually trying to roadie run past the cover. In Gow2, although it does still happens occasionally, there are much fewer instances of accidentally jumping into cover. Which is great as I signed up in order to fight the locust, not the controls...
Epic Games have also introduced lots of new toys for you to play around with. Unfortunately, most of the new weapons don't really shine until you get into multiplayer or co-op mode. The problem is that you can only carry two guns. In singleplayer mode, this means that you invariably choose one long range weapon and 1 short and medium range weapon. For long range, I generally prefer the sniper which means my other weapon will generally be the lancer (and its awesome chainsaw - after 2 years, I still love that chainsaw animation!!). Admittedly, this may just have been a problem with my preferences, but I definitely felt that the sniper and lancer combo gave me the best chance of surviving any situation.
However, if you play the campaign in co-op, the new weapons really start to add flavour. At this point, you can grab the other weapons safe in the knowledge that your partner can cover any shortcomings in your weapon pairing. For example, at one point during the campaign, I was armed with the sniper rifle and flamethrower while my partner had the torque bow and lancer.
Our tactics were generally for one guy to go forward and draw fire while the other guy gave covering fire. So if he moved forward, I would stay back with the sniper rifle and headshot any enemies attacking him. Alternatively, if I moved forward, I would use the flamethrower from behind cover (the constant stream of flame from the flamethrower means that it is very effective when blindfiring from behind cover) to burn enemies while safely behind cover. This would force the enemy out of cover and allow my partner to hit him with the torque bow. All in all, a great strategy which worked really well for the most part (we were playing co-op on Insane difficulty).
Of the new weapons, my favourite is without a doubt, the flamethrower - not because it is the most effective but because it looks the coolest. Unfortunately, as a close range weapon, it isn't as good as the lancer (with its instant kill chainsaw). However, the flamethrower just looks awesome. Whenever you use the flamethrower on someone, you first see them light up as they burn. And then if you get the kill using the flamethrower, the dead body is just a charred husk. Too freaking cool!!
Graphics
Again, Epic Games have raised the bar for graphics quality on the X360. Despite being on the same hardware, there is a very noticable upgrade in graphics from the original Gears to the sequel. Possibly, the upgrade in graphics is really noticable because the game is a 3rd person shooter so you really see Marcus (and the characters have an incredible amount of detail on them) up close in lots of situations.
The campaign has also been specially designed to show off the strengths of the Unreal engine. Throughout the campaign, you end up in some really wacky situations which you suspect the developers only thought up so that they could take advantage of the new features of the Unreal engine. Having said that, the lighting effects in this game are incredible. There are a couple of areas where the game is pitch black except for a light from a nearby vehicle or from Jack (your friendly robot AI whose main job is to open doors).
Summary
Another great game from Epic Games and it really looks like they have created another must-have franchise on the X360. Come the end of the year, I would be very surprised if GoW2 didn't pick up several awards in the various gaming publications (although there are some very good candidates this year - its been a good year for gaming).
As with the original GoW, if you like action games and own an X360, you owe it to yourself to buy this game.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Bioshock back on the menu
Activation limits have been removed from BioShock.
Unfortunately, the DRM is still there. However, as I have said many times before, I am willing to put up with DRM as long as it isn't too draconian or too intrusive. With the activation limits removed, BioShock has just wandered into the "willing to put up with" category.
To be fair, at this point, I don't know if I will buy BioShock. This is a decision I will make when I finish with GTA IV and are looking out for my next game. Unfortunately for 2k, my eagerness for this game has long passed and it is entirely possible that by the time I buy a new game, there will be something newer which is getting all the press. However, the removal of the activation limits means that at the very least, I will consider buying it.
Unfortunately, the DRM is still there. However, as I have said many times before, I am willing to put up with DRM as long as it isn't too draconian or too intrusive. With the activation limits removed, BioShock has just wandered into the "willing to put up with" category.
To be fair, at this point, I don't know if I will buy BioShock. This is a decision I will make when I finish with GTA IV and are looking out for my next game. Unfortunately for 2k, my eagerness for this game has long passed and it is entirely possible that by the time I buy a new game, there will be something newer which is getting all the press. However, the removal of the activation limits means that at the very least, I will consider buying it.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Rainbow Six: Vegas - coop
Looking back at last weeks post, I just realised that I sound pretty negative about R6:V. I guess its worthwhile reiterating that I do think the multiplayer is quite good. The problem is just that it doesn't feel very tactical - which, in my opinion, is the strength of the R6 series in the first place.
Anyway, despite any perceived problems with the multiplayer, the coop in R6:V is excellent with just one proviso which I'll go into momentarily.
The great thing about coop gameplay is that it really does cater to R6's strengths. Just like in the singleplayer, you get rooms full of tango's which you and your squadmates can breach and clear to your hearts content. As I said, the key strength of the R6 series is the tactical nature of the combat and coop captures this beautifully.
At least it does, if you get the right team together (here's that proviso I mentioned!). While I have been in some good games, I've also been in some games with kids. And the problem with kids is that they just want to run around and shoot things. At this point, the game just turns into a run n gun FPS which kinda defeats the purpose. Having said that, you can't really blame the game for this.
When done properly, the feeling of you get from a good coop session is awesome and I'll try and capture it with a gameplay example below.
There were three of us in the group. Before the game started, we had discussed what ordinance each of us would be taking. Some of us had breaching charges (so we could blow in doors), some of us had smoke grenades (to provide cover), some of us had flashbangs and some of us had frags (I had the smoke and flashbangs). All in all, we had a fair mix of ordinance to play around with.
We start the game and by this time, we are already in Vegas. We get to a room with two doors and split into 2 teams - me on my own and the other two guys in the other team. Both of us snake cam each door and spot several tangos waiting inside and we quickly devise a plan of attack.
The guy with the breaching charge sets up the charge on my door before rejoining his teammate. We all setup shop by the side of the door and wait.
The team leader checks everybodys position before counting down. "1 .. 2 .. 3 .. Go go go!!"
The breaching charge by my door sets off and blows away the door. The guy standing behind the door is killed immediately and the rest of the room erupts into bedlam as the tangos dive behind cover. They immediately target my door as evidenced by the hail of bullets pouring through.
However, while the tango's are focusing on my door, the team leader has opened the second door. The third teammate pops out from behind the second door and starts to get some easy kills as all the tango's are focused on my door. The room erupts into chaos for a second time as the tangos shift cover and start firing at my teammate by the second door.
This is the perfect opportunity for me to pop out from behind the first door and take out the remaining bad guys. Perfectly planned. Perfectly executed.
Anyway, despite any perceived problems with the multiplayer, the coop in R6:V is excellent with just one proviso which I'll go into momentarily.
The great thing about coop gameplay is that it really does cater to R6's strengths. Just like in the singleplayer, you get rooms full of tango's which you and your squadmates can breach and clear to your hearts content. As I said, the key strength of the R6 series is the tactical nature of the combat and coop captures this beautifully.
At least it does, if you get the right team together (here's that proviso I mentioned!). While I have been in some good games, I've also been in some games with kids. And the problem with kids is that they just want to run around and shoot things. At this point, the game just turns into a run n gun FPS which kinda defeats the purpose. Having said that, you can't really blame the game for this.
When done properly, the feeling of you get from a good coop session is awesome and I'll try and capture it with a gameplay example below.
There were three of us in the group. Before the game started, we had discussed what ordinance each of us would be taking. Some of us had breaching charges (so we could blow in doors), some of us had smoke grenades (to provide cover), some of us had flashbangs and some of us had frags (I had the smoke and flashbangs). All in all, we had a fair mix of ordinance to play around with.
We start the game and by this time, we are already in Vegas. We get to a room with two doors and split into 2 teams - me on my own and the other two guys in the other team. Both of us snake cam each door and spot several tangos waiting inside and we quickly devise a plan of attack.
The guy with the breaching charge sets up the charge on my door before rejoining his teammate. We all setup shop by the side of the door and wait.
The team leader checks everybodys position before counting down. "1 .. 2 .. 3 .. Go go go!!"
The breaching charge by my door sets off and blows away the door. The guy standing behind the door is killed immediately and the rest of the room erupts into bedlam as the tangos dive behind cover. They immediately target my door as evidenced by the hail of bullets pouring through.
However, while the tango's are focusing on my door, the team leader has opened the second door. The third teammate pops out from behind the second door and starts to get some easy kills as all the tango's are focused on my door. The room erupts into chaos for a second time as the tangos shift cover and start firing at my teammate by the second door.
This is the perfect opportunity for me to pop out from behind the first door and take out the remaining bad guys. Perfectly planned. Perfectly executed.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Rainbow Six: Vegas - multiplayer
Last week, I mentioned that I was playing R6:V and gave a single player gameplay example. I also took the opportunity to test out the multiplayer which is what this post is about.
One of the cool things about the multiplayer is that you create your character and then get to decide what equipment that he will have. In addition, you also get to decide what clothes and armor he will wear. As you start, you only have very limited options. However, as you play more games and level up your character, some of the better equipment will unlock.
The great thing about this is that it really allows you to invest in your online persona. At the same time, even the "lesser" weapons are extremely lethal and can kill other players very easily. Given all this, you would think that I really enjoyed the multiplayer. Unfortunately, I didn't.
To be fair to R6:V, its not that the multiplayer is bad. The problem is that the multiplayer is so disconnected from the single player. Let me explain.
In my opinion, the key strength of R6:V is in the tactical nature of its single player game. This is very different from other FPSs on the market and is one of the key differentiators for this game. However, when you get into the multiplayer game, the game effectively devolves into a run and gun FPS. Although you can still use the tactics and equipment from the single player game, there just isn't any point as its more effective to keep on the move.
And this is what I mean when I say that the multiplayer is disconnected from the single player. The reason I like this game is because I like the slow tactical buildup element in planning out an assault on a room and then executing on that plan. Unfortunately, that just isn't how the multiplayer game works. It's like the multiplayer game is a different game altogether.
And this is where we run into problems. First off, the expectations gap means that R6:V isn't off to a good start. Throw in the fact that Halo 3 has since been released which does multiplayer run and gun superbly (in my opinion) and it doesn't look like R6:V has any legs left to stand on. As I said before, its not that the multiplayer is bad. In fact, its actually quite good. The problem is that after playing a couple of multiplayer games, I just couldn't help but think, "Why aren't I playing Halo 3?"
One of the cool things about the multiplayer is that you create your character and then get to decide what equipment that he will have. In addition, you also get to decide what clothes and armor he will wear. As you start, you only have very limited options. However, as you play more games and level up your character, some of the better equipment will unlock.
The great thing about this is that it really allows you to invest in your online persona. At the same time, even the "lesser" weapons are extremely lethal and can kill other players very easily. Given all this, you would think that I really enjoyed the multiplayer. Unfortunately, I didn't.
To be fair to R6:V, its not that the multiplayer is bad. The problem is that the multiplayer is so disconnected from the single player. Let me explain.
In my opinion, the key strength of R6:V is in the tactical nature of its single player game. This is very different from other FPSs on the market and is one of the key differentiators for this game. However, when you get into the multiplayer game, the game effectively devolves into a run and gun FPS. Although you can still use the tactics and equipment from the single player game, there just isn't any point as its more effective to keep on the move.
And this is what I mean when I say that the multiplayer is disconnected from the single player. The reason I like this game is because I like the slow tactical buildup element in planning out an assault on a room and then executing on that plan. Unfortunately, that just isn't how the multiplayer game works. It's like the multiplayer game is a different game altogether.
And this is where we run into problems. First off, the expectations gap means that R6:V isn't off to a good start. Throw in the fact that Halo 3 has since been released which does multiplayer run and gun superbly (in my opinion) and it doesn't look like R6:V has any legs left to stand on. As I said before, its not that the multiplayer is bad. In fact, its actually quite good. The problem is that after playing a couple of multiplayer games, I just couldn't help but think, "Why aren't I playing Halo 3?"
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Rainbow Six: Vegas
Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 has just been released which is good for me. Not because I wanted to buy it but because I suspect it lead to Rainbow Six: Vegas becoming a Platinum Hit. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with the term, all you need to know is that R6:V is currently available for the budget price of HK$190. Cheap!!
My first exposure to Rainbow Six was actually via the original novel written by Tom Clancy (thats right - I don't just play video games!). It was a great novel and a very clever idea. Basically, Rainbow Six is the code name for an international anti-terrorist unit which is given special training. And if you think that sounds like a great plot idea for a game, then you aren't the only one!
Like other Tom Clancy branded games, Rainbow Six: Vegas focuses on realism. Basically, if you try and run around like in other FPSs, your going to go down under a hail of bullets very quickly! R6:V is very much about careful considered action. Move your team into place, select which tango's you want them to take out, and then breach in and clear the room! Just like real anti-terrorist units (I suspect)!
So how does that actually translate into gameplay? Sounds like a perfect lead in for a single player gameplay example!
My team of elite anti-terrorists get to a door. Using the Snake Cam, I peer under the door and see two tango's (Tango = T = terrorist) - one just to the left of the door and one just to the right of the door. I order my two teammates to stack up on the door and get ready. Meanwhile, I head off to the side door and take cover right next to door.
I open the side door while still in cover. The two tangos immediately spot the open door and start moving towards me slowly - guns firmly trained on the open door. Their thinking is that if I dare to show my face, they will blow it off! However, as the second tango passes the first door, I order my team to Breach and Clear.
The breach command is basically to put a small breaching charge on the door. The breaching charge blows the door in (pity anyone standing behind the door!) and allows the team to then rush in through the open door. Did I mention before that I waited until the second tango was in front of the door before I ordered the breach and clear?
>:)
The doors blow in and take out the second tango. The first tango turns around to shoot at the incoming R6 members. At this point, I pop out of cover and cap the first tango in the back of the head. Perfectly planned and executed!
I love it when a plan comes together!
My first exposure to Rainbow Six was actually via the original novel written by Tom Clancy (thats right - I don't just play video games!). It was a great novel and a very clever idea. Basically, Rainbow Six is the code name for an international anti-terrorist unit which is given special training. And if you think that sounds like a great plot idea for a game, then you aren't the only one!
Like other Tom Clancy branded games, Rainbow Six: Vegas focuses on realism. Basically, if you try and run around like in other FPSs, your going to go down under a hail of bullets very quickly! R6:V is very much about careful considered action. Move your team into place, select which tango's you want them to take out, and then breach in and clear the room! Just like real anti-terrorist units (I suspect)!
So how does that actually translate into gameplay? Sounds like a perfect lead in for a single player gameplay example!
My team of elite anti-terrorists get to a door. Using the Snake Cam, I peer under the door and see two tango's (Tango = T = terrorist) - one just to the left of the door and one just to the right of the door. I order my two teammates to stack up on the door and get ready. Meanwhile, I head off to the side door and take cover right next to door.
I open the side door while still in cover. The two tangos immediately spot the open door and start moving towards me slowly - guns firmly trained on the open door. Their thinking is that if I dare to show my face, they will blow it off! However, as the second tango passes the first door, I order my team to Breach and Clear.
The breach command is basically to put a small breaching charge on the door. The breaching charge blows the door in (pity anyone standing behind the door!) and allows the team to then rush in through the open door. Did I mention before that I waited until the second tango was in front of the door before I ordered the breach and clear?
>:)
The doors blow in and take out the second tango. The first tango turns around to shoot at the incoming R6 members. At this point, I pop out of cover and cap the first tango in the back of the head. Perfectly planned and executed!
I love it when a plan comes together!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Never Surrender!!
Time for another Halo 3 video. The video below is also taken from one of my early games of straight deathmatch (or Slayer as Halo 3 calls it). By the way, in case you are wondering, the video is highly edited as there were only 3 players hence a lot of time was spent running around looking for the other guys!
Also, I uploaded the video twice - once in Blogger and once in YouTube. The advantage of YouTube is that you can go to YouTube and view the video in fullscreen (although the resolution isn't very good). The reason I uploaded twice is so that I can see which one loads quicker. Let me know which version you prefer and I will stick to that version in future.
Anyway, I started off this game really badly and before long, I was down by 15:6 (ie I had 6 kills while the leader had 15). At the time, I remember looking at the score and thinking "Man, I'm crap!".
Despite the shitty score though, I never gave up. And somehow, I started to fight my way back into the game. During my comeback, I managed to get 2 Killing Spree's (a killing spree is getting 5 kills without dieing) and 2 double kills to tie up the game.
By far the best part of the comeback came at the end. With approx 10 seconds till the end of the game, I'm still down by 1 kill. At this point, I'm running across an open platform when someone starts shooting at me from above. I immediately deploy a bubble shield to try and hide in. Unfortunately, the guy is a lot closer than I realised and he runs into the bubble shield and assasinates me from behind. Now, I'm down by 2 kills and thinking "this game is over".
However, I respawn close to where I died and notice the other two guys having a shoot-out in the open platform area. With literally seconds to go, I chuck a grenade and wade into the fight. Amazingly, I managed to get a double kill and tie the game at 22 kills just before the game ends!!
As you can imagine, I was so pumped up at this point that all I could do was jump around the living room screaming like a madman! In fact, the only reason I stopped was because the missus came out and gave me hell for making so much noise!!
PS Not sure when my next video will be. The grab function in http://www.geevee.com/ (which is what I used to transform my Halo 3 clips into video) has been down for a month for upgrades and there is no timetable for when it will come back up.
Also, I uploaded the video twice - once in Blogger and once in YouTube. The advantage of YouTube is that you can go to YouTube and view the video in fullscreen (although the resolution isn't very good). The reason I uploaded twice is so that I can see which one loads quicker. Let me know which version you prefer and I will stick to that version in future.
Anyway, I started off this game really badly and before long, I was down by 15:6 (ie I had 6 kills while the leader had 15). At the time, I remember looking at the score and thinking "Man, I'm crap!".
Despite the shitty score though, I never gave up. And somehow, I started to fight my way back into the game. During my comeback, I managed to get 2 Killing Spree's (a killing spree is getting 5 kills without dieing) and 2 double kills to tie up the game.
By far the best part of the comeback came at the end. With approx 10 seconds till the end of the game, I'm still down by 1 kill. At this point, I'm running across an open platform when someone starts shooting at me from above. I immediately deploy a bubble shield to try and hide in. Unfortunately, the guy is a lot closer than I realised and he runs into the bubble shield and assasinates me from behind. Now, I'm down by 2 kills and thinking "this game is over".
However, I respawn close to where I died and notice the other two guys having a shoot-out in the open platform area. With literally seconds to go, I chuck a grenade and wade into the fight. Amazingly, I managed to get a double kill and tie the game at 22 kills just before the game ends!!
As you can imagine, I was so pumped up at this point that all I could do was jump around the living room screaming like a madman! In fact, the only reason I stopped was because the missus came out and gave me hell for making so much noise!!
PS Not sure when my next video will be. The grab function in http://www.geevee.com/ (which is what I used to transform my Halo 3 clips into video) has been down for a month for upgrades and there is no timetable for when it will come back up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)