High Technology

Prestige Edition comes with what!?

2009-11-22T03:50:00.005-05:00

Yes, that's correct, I actually don't have any plans to get Modern Warfare 2. Don't get me wrong, I liked the first one, it was a fantastic game. However I got it a long time after it came out, I mean a long time and I stopped playing it before the people who got it on release day.
Since I blew through the single player and I hear the sequel's offering isn't any longer I just... meh. Multiplayer is definitely cool, deserves the praise it earned and kept me interested long enough to get through prestige mode 1 and a half times so far but that was it so I'm not foaming at the mouth to drop $60 on an improved (balance-wise, graphics-wise or otherwise) version of the same.
Of course there is a good chance I'll end up grabbing MW2 anyway, I didn't plan on buying the first one either...

Brutal Legend tells of a legendary warrior whose skills were the stuff of legend.

2009-10-03T07:42:00.007-04:00

And that warrior...is Tim Schafer. Thought I was gonna say Jack Black or Eddie Riggs huh? Yup, it's ok, it happens.
So yes, the Brutal Legend demo did come out this week. And yes, it is awesome. How awesome you ask? Well, you've come to the right place to quantify abstract concepts: it's super freakin' awesome...but I guess you need more information than that. The best thing you could do would be download the demo and play for yourself. Actually the best thing you could do is go pre-order Brutal Legend to make sure another Tim Schafer concentrated disc of awesomeness doesn't get ignored completely *cough Psychonauts /cough* so we can get another one at some point in the future. For now though, we'll go with the second...third...a good thing you can do and read about Brutal Legend here on High Technology.
I'll dole out some quick background info on Brutal Legend for those of you that are really intent on ignoring all of Tim Schafer's work.

Brutal Legend is about metal. No, not shiny metal, but dark metal, heavy metal. I'm talking music here. And, as the opening cinema (of both the demo and the game) point out: real, skulls and demons and medieval (not MediEvil) weapons metal. No emo-y nu-metal or anything of that nature. Real M - E - T - A - L. Music that would make Dethklock proud. Don't worry though, even if you've never gotten/given a battle scar in a mosh pit and have no idea how to "throw up the devil horns" you will still enjoy this game. You will get more of the jokes though. Eddie Riggs is one of these lovers of metal, he's also the world's best roadie AND the game's main character, he's just a multi-talented guy. So talented, in fact, that he gets sucked into the Age of Metal by his magical, metal belt buckle after an unfortunate stage accident. Like I said, super freakin' awesome. Like I also said, it's best to see it for yourself. And the Age of Metal is in turmoil, lorded over by a terrible, metal-defiling demon whom only Eddie, it seems, can defeat. Along the way Eddie will pick up new gear (spellcasting guitar, hotrod called The Deuce) and allies (headbangers, Ozzy) to aid in his quest.
The demo actually covers a good portion of the game's opening. You'll see the opening cinema, get Eddies main weapon (a battle-axe called The Separator) his previously mentioned spellcasting guitar, and The Deuce. You'll even get your first ally/love interest, although you don't get the chance to teach her about french-kissing, in the demo anyway AND fight the first boss. Yet it's not a particularly long demo, hmmm...
The presentation you'll see in the retail release is in full effect in the demo as well. The menu consists of an elaborately packaged vinyl record being manipulated by a pair of hands. New game? flip open the cover. Multiplayer? Slide the paper sleeve out. Options? Slide the record out of the sleeve. You get the idea. All menu manipulation is done with the standard left, right method as well, they didn't make a minigame out of it. In fact, all the menus are littered with that special Schafer aroma. Pop-up menus asking if you want swearing and gore enabled or just explaining what buttons do have that little spice of Schafer-esque humor. The specifics of those I'm going to let you see for yourself, however.
Speaking of the buttons, once you get through the opening movie it'll be time to do some playing. Brutal Legend's controls are straightforward and the game trickles out it's tutorial information at appropriate and helpful times. Basically X is standard attack using the Separator with O acting as block and Square utilizing the guitar and it's magical spells. Triangle is a context-sensitive action button that can do everything from jump into the Deuce to grabbing your ally for a double-team move. The basic attacks have variations for holding the appropriate button down as well, and there's a combo that combines X and Square for a super usefull spell that involves some physical movement on Eddie's part as well. And there's no jump. I know, I know, "how can there be no jump?" There just isn't, and it works just fine.
Graphically, Brutal Legend isn't quite going to threaten teh crown currently held by Uncharted 2, but it certainy suffices. For the most part, textures are sharp and models are smooth and the animations is top-notch. Although you'll hear Jack Black's voice and realize it doesn't quite fit with the exceptionally muscular Eddie Riggs, the quality of the character's animation can regularly fog out that reality. For those that don't know Jack Black A) WTF!! and B) it may very well look flawless. And the art direction...well this is Tim Schafer and Tim Schafer loves metal sooo...look, I can't do everything for you here, some stuff you have to fill in the blanks on.
Speaking of Jack Black, he is in perfect form here. The same way that School of Rock dropped Jack Black into a movie best suited to his humor, so Brutal Legend does for video games. We could call it the Brutal School of Rock Legend...but we won't. How no one ever thought to put Schafer and Black together before I do not know, but i'm gladd I was alive when it happened. The collaboration really shines in things like the descent down the mountain of your arrival. While Eddie prays to the gods (player?) to move his conspicuously-absent-of-controls vehicle down the mountain you can cause him to stop and stumble verbally while trying to find appropriate adjectives by simply stopping the vehicle. Once you continue walking he picks up his prayer right where he left off. If you walk down the mountain nonstop the whole way, you'd never know the game even did that. Cool idea on Tim's part, funny dialogue on Jack's.
The music...I mean really, do I need to go into this? The game is about heavy metal so the soundtrack is entirely...heavy metal, yes, thank you. Moving on.
Considering how much fun I had with this excruciatingly small taste of Brutal Legend, I can't imagine how I'm going to wait the whole two weeks it will be before I can experience all of the different gameplay types, allies, metal legend cameos (Ozzy, Lemmy, etc.) and one-liners the full game will offer. I've considered cryogenically freezing myself, but that didn't work out so well for Cartman.

Section 8: Early Beta Impressions (oops)

2009-09-01T17:07:00.004-04:00

So I got some new betas to test out on my PC (I call him Spike, by the way) and one of those betas happened to be Section 8. Now, I haven't gotten as much time to test this game out as I had hoped, but Spike's been kind of finnicky since I gave him a TV Tuner card. Hey, sometimes when you move across the country in pursuit of a career in the video game industry, you have to make your PC double as your TV/DVR because you can't fit everything in the Uhaul...but I digress.
Anyways, what I had originally thought to be a first-person take on Warhawk's "zone" capture points (capturing an area grants you equipment and defenses such as turrets) is actually quite the intriguing and surprisingly tactical effort. So far.
Like I said, it's still early. Section 8 is certainly no graphical beast, Crysis still sits firmly atop its throne, but it's no slouch either. My PC isn't exactly top of the line, but I do like to tinker and I can get S8 to run at maximum settings, so I've seen the full polish. This is actually a good thing however, as system requirements can be a barrier for the casual/not-absurdly-rich PC gamer
Unfortunately, everything written up until this point was done while the beta was still running...and it ended before I got any more play time in. In fact, the game is on store shelves right now.
But I will tell of what I saw while it lasted.
As i mentioned already, there is a lot more tactical thinking involved in Section 8 than I would have originally thought. That doesn't mean you have to be an RTS or Tactical RPG veteran to do well in S8, your average FPS junkie will do just fine as well. The options that exist seem to be there just for the people interested in that kind of thing, the same kind of people that require stat tracking for their multiplayer modes, the kind of people that actually care about the content written here.
One of these facets that offered more tactical choice than originally thought was the game's big bullet point: "burn in." For those that haven't followed Section 8, "burn in" is the game's version of spawning. When you die in Section 8 you don't just magically reappear on the battlefield, you drop thousands of feet from a drop ship to land on the battlefield, in player-controlled real time. When the match begins (or after you've died) you are presented with a complete map of the current level and are able to pick any area as your drop point. You are then jettisoned from the ship and sent screaming to the ground below, with a HUD and audio warning tell you when to hit the brakes adn avoid going splat.
The average player will probably just look for a good spot with teammates around (all your live teammates positions are shown on the map) or an open space and drop right there. Players takign a more in-depth aproach haev other choices, however, and a lot of that plays into the attributes you give your character. Each player can equip two main weapons and a secondary one (grenades, knife, etc.) with no limitations related to the "class" you choose. There's a reason "class" is in quotes. This game makes classes less of a Team Fortress 2 affair and more of a "Custom Slot #" Modern Warfare setup. Several predefined/named classes are available, but they can all be changed in any way the player sees fit, a decent option when one considers the weapons, and openind to countless options when one brings Section 8's "perks" into play.
Aside from weapon choices, there are several slots for the attribute's of a players armor. These involve things like stealth that hides you from radar and turrets, armor plating that gives you stronger shileds, even boosters that allow you to run faster and longer. With the number of options available, the play can truly create a character to suit their play style, and accomodate several styles depending on what role or goal they are trying to accomplish.
These attributes also affects the burn-ins and is where a large part of the tactical aspect sneaks into the game. All occupied bases are armed with Anti-Air turrets to prevent enemy players from dropping right into the center of said base. So depending on what you're trying to achieve at that particular point in the match you can use a character with high levels of the ANTI-Anti-Air attribute which gives you more time before the turrets stat firing at you and even protection from their rounds. One the map, prior to burn-in, the area in rang of these guns is highlighted in red. You can still drop into these areas but chances are good you'll be destroyed before you land if you're not properly equipped. This can also affect when you decide to hit the brakes during your drop. Once you hit the brakes, you your fall begins to slow and you're given free movement in order to fine tune your landing. If you're in range of AA guns, however, moving slower means getting shot at longer. Throw in the decision of "do i drop in with my teammates engaged in a fight with the other team or do i drop back in enemy territory to distract them and maybe capture a base for my team?" along with all the other things that need to be decided BEFORE YOU EVEN START PLAYING and you've got yourself an FPS with a lot more depth than it initially lets on.
As for how it actually plays when on the battlefield: it's decent. The weapons are all appropriately over-the-top futuristic with the only problem being how similar they all look; am I holding an assault rifle or a shotgun? There's zoom on appropriate weapons and a lock-on whose duration depends on your armor's attributes. If you need to get somewhere fast sprinting for a few seconds opens up some kind of afterburner on your armor and your character starts moving so fast the camera's pushed back to a 3rd person view...ok that was probably just a creative decision. Due to the small amount of time i got with the game, i'm going to keep from presentign too much opinion on the gameplay itself, but there are a few things I will mention:
What's going on? there never seems to be a very clear description of the current objective during a match. Things will pop up occasionally like "The enemy has initiated ____" mission" and you'll ned to kill an enemy general or convoy. How these missions get initiated I have no idea. I also have no idea how turrets are constructed or what capturing an area does, but that's also due to my limited time with the game. Basically my issue is how little the game holds your hand but again I had very little time with the game and this was a beta. By the time the player finishes the single-player campaign they should have an answer to these questions. Except maybe: Why does the shotgun look just like the Assault rifle?

Sex and Playstation; Grow up.

2009-06-04T01:26:00.013-04:00

So I'm still sifting through the mass of news that accompanies E3 and finding the stuff worth writing about as well as waiting for confirmation on some of the more shadowy details that came out of this year's expo (Metal Gear Solid: Rising, I'm looking at you.) before I start writing my coverage of the videogame circus that is E3. In the meantime, however, I came across some of the details of BioWare's new IP: Dragon Age: Origins and the mounting controversy that tickled my irritate bone just enough that I had to write something about it. BioWare's including sexual relationships in the game. Gasp!

This isn't a first for a BioWare game, and far from a first for the industry, yet people still can't seem to get past it. Look people, sex happens. It's a regular part of everyday life, it's not something that needs to be hidden behind closed doors and looked down upon as something dirty (despite what the Catholic church tells you) just as it's not something to be held up on a pedestal as the ultimate goal in life (despite what the porn industry tells you) and if you're telling the story of an adult's life, sex is most likely going to be part of it. Yet the general public can't seem to accept this and continue to think of sex in videogames the same way they think of sex in their parents lives: it doesn't happen.
But let's get more into BioWare's take specifically. The first time they got into hot water (or Hot Coffee maybe?) was with the game Mass Effect. At the game's outset you create your own character, male or female, and edit their appearance however you like. Whatever you decide, there are two potential romantic interests. There is a male or female human depending on which sex you chose to play as and there is also an alien that is technically neither male nor female, yet whose appearance suggests the latter. Beyond the finger wagging that including a sexual relationship in their game earned them, BioWare also found controversy for allowing players to engage in an apparent lesbian encounter with said alien. What!? Videogames promoting tolerance!? Blasphemy! Depravity! Pornography!
To some of you that may sound stupid, but I remind those of you that we, as a society, still can't seem to decide if we should let homosexuals marry despite the fact that no one has yet put forth a legitimate reason not to. Videogames already catch flak and endure absurd levels of controversy for depicting things commonplace in other mediums so this really shouldn't have been such a surprise. Yet I remain flabbergasted by this. Yes, my flabber has been thoroughly gasted. There are games that throw in sex gratuitously (see the menage a trois minigames in the God of War series, or any Leisure Suit Larry game in general) but those are done in a very tongue-in-cheek way and never made out to be anything more then they are: indulgent, adolescent fantasy intended purely for entertainment. Speaking of God of War, it amuses/irritates me to no end that a game where you can literally tear a guy's arm off and impale him with it faced the most opposition because of it's depiction of bare breasts (this is Greek mythology we're dealing with) and a threesome minigame, with the actual threesome taking place off-screen no less!
BioWare games take an appropriately mature approach to the subject and make it more about the relationship itself and the consequences of adding sex to it. Choose the alien to foster your adult relationship with and your fiery subordinate is going to get angry and pout. Choose said spitfire and the alien will be hurt but understanding. And since your characters and the choices you've made carry on to the game's sequels (isn't modern technology grand) those consequences are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Dragon Age seems to be taking that idea of consequences even further (it didn't take place until almost the very end in Mass Effect...is that a spoiler? Whatever.) with your choices between romantic partners and how your relationship with one affects your relationship with the other, and possibly even more people than you would have thought. And as is the case with real life, even getting these relationships to the point where sex becomes a possibility takes some real effort. Shacking up with one woman makes the other jealous, and maybe even angry or hostile. If you've been flirting with both up to that point, the consequences are even more tangible than had you simply pursued one and left the other to her own devices.
Now both of these women appear to be more than just eye candy and a chance to get your groove on, they serve gameplay purposes. For example, Morrigan is a sorceress. If you break her heart she's not going to lend her magic to your side in battle...and there's always the chance she'll turn you into a toad. Alright, maybe not the toad part but you get my meaning.
The point is, people get to hung up on the sex. Sex is just sex people, it's an integral part of everyday life; without it we can't survive as a species. What seems to get lost amidst the idiocy, is what taking it to a sexual level means to your romantic relationship as well as how it affects, directly or indirectly, your relationship with others, it's part of the story. If you want to depict an adult that has a fully-realized romantic relationship, sex is going to be a part of that relationship. Pretending sex doesn't happen just because it makes you twitch is simply adding a level of pure fantasy to the story you're attempting to tell. The game isn't forcing you to have sex either, it's simply making the option available. This is a role-playing game, after all, a game in which you play a role, and putting as many options as possible at the player's disposal is what allows the player to play their role however they want. Want to go around banging any chick that bats her eyelashes at you? Go ahead, as long as you're ready to deal with the consequences of such promiscuity (digital STD's? hmmmm...). Want to be celibate and act like you're some kind of priest while simultaneously going around killing things? Hey, it is a fantasy game.
Forgetting the relationship and getting hung up on the sex part -- thinking it should be kept in the dark and out of sight -- is the reaction of a repressed individual and I pity you. Sex is sex, it's normal, it's fun, and most of all it's necessary. If you can't find a way to wrap your mind around that and move on with your life...well, you need to grow up.

Modern Warfare 2 Screenshots.

2009-05-27T00:47:00.002-04:00

For those of you interested in seeing how Modern Warfare 2 is shaping up graphically, IGN has got some new screenshots.

Aliens Vs Predator: Like the Movies, Only Good.

2009-05-26T23:45:00.004-04:00

For those of you that don't play videogames and have only experienced this wet dream of violence through the movies...sucks to be you. Hopefully there are gamers out there old enough to remember the original Aliens vs. Predator game from a decade ago and won't be turned off by the lame movies, because this one's looking preeetty suh-weet.

Rebellion is back on the job and hopefully the fact that they haven't really made a good game since the original AVP just is a sign that they are only meant to make games in that series, not that they've lost their touch. OK...Rogue Trooper was decent.

Back to the main topic, the new Aliens vs Predator appears to be something of a reboot (man those are popular these days) as it's not a direct sequel. The game will be coming to the PC, PS3 and Xbox360.

Unlike the original which let you choose whether you wanted to play as Human, Alien, or Predator, this one takes a Call of Duty 4 approach and switches you between the 3 for each level. Apparently all that's been shows so far is the Predator side, but according to IGN, it's damn fun. Despite what you may think of the Predator, he's not a tank-like killing machine, he is a very ninja-like hunter whose main objective is to separate individuals from the crowd and take them down one by one. The biggest aid in successfully playing this way is undoubtedly the Predator's signature cloaking device, i.e. you go all shimmery and invisible like in the movies. Honestly, if you just think back to the Predator movies you'll have a pretty good idea of what's at his disposal. The aforementioned cloak, infrared vision, wrist-mounted extendable blades, that triangle laser-sighted gun (plasma caster), there's rumored to be that bladed boomerang from Predator 2, and perhaps coolest of all is the Focus visual mode.

Focus mode displays all kinds of information about your surroundings and enemies. Need to find your objective? Focus mode. Want to know what weapons that marine is carrying? Focus mode. Want to know if jumping to that bit of ground from a tree is going to make enough noise to attract attention? Focus. Mode.

Speaking of attracting attention, you can mimic a human voice in order to lure marines away. Since you can set traps with mines, or just rip his skull and spine out (and keep it as a trophy, literally) with your blades, this can lead to all kinds of sadistic fun. The same goes for aliens (well not the voice part, obviously...they don't' really talk) but killing them is a bit more of a challenge.

Now, if you've got an Alien at a distance, there's not much issue. One shot from your plasma caster and that Alien is a pile of entrails. The problem is that they like to move in packs and are very good at sneaking up on you. Once an alien is in close, you're in trouble. If you remember the movies, Aliens have acid blood. This means that if you're up close when you kill one, especially with your blades, you're in for a world of pain. Getting a corpse-full of acid sprayed on your face hurts...a lot.

But these aren't the only enemies. There's the obligatory Alien queen to take care of and somewhere out there lurks a Predalien, a mix of both Predator and Alien seen in the movie Alien vs Predator: Requiem. So if this game sounds pretty sweet to you, check out some more in-depth coverage over at IGN.

E3: Like Hannukkah for Nerds!

2009-05-25T23:38:00.005-04:00

Only shorter. Yes, it's E3 time again. And with the Electronic Entertainment Expo comes a LOT of videogaming news. Every day of the event there are new announcements from every company, whether it's one of the hardware companies (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) or software (EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Naughty Dog, etc.) there's plenty to keep a gaming fan busy, which means there's plenty to keep a gaming blogger busy as well.
I'm going to do my best to keep up with all the major announcements and post them along with commentary in keeping with my sense of humor. All in an effort keep my theoretical readers entertained and abreast of what's going on, don't you feel special? If I do miss something, however, well...I don't care. But feel free to wine about it so I have something to ignore.
Happy E3!

Downloadable "Braaaaaiiinnns." Zombie Apocalypse.

2009-05-20T03:48:00.011-04:00

Zombie Apocalypse. Just sounds cool doesn't it? Well sometime next month we'll find out if it plays as cool as it sounds when Konami and Nihilistic's game hits the Playstation Store and Xbox Live Arcade.

As you've probably guessed from the title, this game involves killing zombies, lots of them. This is a four-person top-down shooter that probably has more in common with Zombies Ate My Neighbors than Left 4 Dead (with a control setup akin to Geometry Wars or Super Stardust), but should satisfy fans of both.

Basically, you pick one of four characters (very reminiscent of Left 4 Dead) and then use everything from machine guns, flamethrowers and chainsaws to make the undead...re-dead. There are several environmental hazards to use in disposing of the zombies as well. An airport level, for example, has a running jet engine that you can push the zombies into, resulting in a satisfying spray of blood and gore.

Each "day" of this particular apocalypse will act as a level within the game, 55 in total. In typical videogame fashion, each level will get progressively harder with denser waves of zombies and even a few special zombies that are more dangerous. So far the game definitely looks to be as fun as a barrel full of...zombies...that you get to shoot at.

Let's just hope all the zombies are white (Caucasian? do we worry about political correctness here?) so we don't end up with another Resident Evil 5 fiasco. (Really people? They're videogames...about ZOMBIES. Lighten up.)

If you want to check out some more in-depth coverage on the game, head on over to the Playstation Blog.

Team Ico Project #3

2009-05-20T03:28:00.004-04:00

So it looks like Team Ico has finally released something more on it's third game than that damn cryptic teaser image.

Or at least that's the word so far. This new video footage is from PlaystationLifeStyle.net, which is a rumor site, and is getting here through a story on joystiq. Rumor, however, does not necessarily mean false, and though the footage hasn't been confirmed, the opening scene does have a shot identical to the official teaser image. This game will be a follow up to the highly respected Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

Now for a REAL Test of Hand-Eye Coordination. Rock Band: Unplugged

2009-05-20T03:09:00.005-04:00

For those of you that didn't think the regular version of Rock Band was enough of a challenge to your motor skills, now Rock Band: Unplugged asks you to play the game and walk at the same time. Yes, Rock Band is coming to the PSP, welcome to the party.

Those of you familiar with Harmonix's first two outings, FreQuency and Amplitude, will find the most comfort in the gameplay of RB:U, since lugging around a drum set, or even a guitar, hampers the whole "portable" thing. For those that didn't support Harmonix in their earlier days, (shame on you, first of all; that's why I didn't link those two titles, look them up yourself) what this means is that you play with just the face buttons of the PSP (well, two face buttons: Triangle and Circle, and two D-Pad directions: Left and Up) rather than plugging in a plastic instrument. While this will limit most people's ability to effectively "rock out" with such moves as air kicks and powerslides, you're better off not performing such moves while waiting on the subway platform anyway. Feaux rockstar stage antics aside, Harmonix has already released the complete track listings for the game which I will present to you...now:

AFI - "Miss Murder"
Lush - "De-Luxe"
Alice in Chains - "Would?"
Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Where'd You Go?"
All-American Rejects - "Move Along"
Modest Mouse - "Float On"
Audioslave - "Gasoline"
Motorhead - "Ace of Spades"
Billy Idol - "White Wedding Part 1"
Nine Inch Nails - "The Perfect Drug"
Black Tide -"Show Me the Way"
Nirvana - "Drain You"
Blink 182 - "What's My Age Again"
The Offspring - "Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Separated)"
Bon Jovi - "Livin' on a Prayer"
Pearl Jam - "Alive"
Boston - "More Than a Feeling"
The Police - "Message in a Bottle"
Dead Kennedys - "Holiday in Cambodia"
Queens of the Stone Age - "3's and 7's"
Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
Rush - "The Trees"
Freezepop - "Less Talk More Rokk"
Siouxsie & the Banshees - "The Killing Jar"
Jackson 5 - "ABC"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Today"
Jethro Tull - "Aqualung"
Social Distortion - "I Was Wrong"
Jimmy Eat World - "The Middle"
Soundgarden - "Spoonman"
Judas Priest - "Painkiller"
System of a Down - "Chop Suey!"
Kansas - "Carry on Wayward Son"
Tenacious D - "Rock Your Socks"
The Killers - "Mr. Brightside"
3 Doors Down - "Kryptonite"
Lacuna Coil - "Our Truth"
Weezer - "Buddy Holly"
Lamb of God - "Laid to Rest"
The Who - "Pinball Wizard"
Lit - "My Own Worst Enemy"

And if this is the first you're hearing about this game you can check out a hands-on that ign did awhile ago here.

Soul Calibur: A Tale of Swords and Portability

2009-05-20T02:46:00.009-04:00

First: Project Soul is working on yet another Soul Calibur game. Second: It's on PSP. Third: It's looking pretty damn good.

Yup, that's pretty much the gist of it. Another entry in the venerable Soul Calibur series, this time portable thanks to the PSP. So the next time you want to take a giant axe to the obnixous toolbox on the bus, you can! So long as he has a PSP...or you're ok with substantial prison time. If it's the latter please move away from your monitor and to the nearest psychiatric hospital.

Now, for all you non-sociopaths, this entry comes to us under the title of Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny. If you're looking for an entirely original entry into the series with all the requisite upgrades...well you're deluding yourself. This is more or less a portable version of SCIV sans Star Wars characters (Mitsurugi FTW!).

At least one thing you can be assured of already is that the title looks fantastic for a portable game. And yes, if anyone actually has to ask, Ivy still looks like a surgically enhanced, bondage-fetish slut. Thank God/How immature.

Free Fists of Plastic!

2009-05-19T03:43:00.006-04:00

There's something of a deal going on at the Playstation Store right now, and that deal is Ragdoll Kung-Fu: Fists of Plastic.

I remember when this game was originally released for the PC via steam, but since then it has apparently made the move to consoles, remaining a downloadable title.
The game is free for one week on the Playstation Store, and since it is quite fun, I highly recommend adding it to your hard drive.
You get yourself a little plastic action figure/ragdoll, customize to personal preference, and then beat the crap out of similar characters. You aim your attacks with the left stick, punch with square, kick with triangle, jump with X, and block with circle. There are some SIXAXIS dependant special moves as well. At first these seem completely unnecessary (and probably are) but it's somehow fun to jerk your controller left and watch your character go flying left on the screen.
The single-player mode is really just a set of tutorials, and there's no online functionality, but if you have some live, tangible friends by your side, there is fun to be had. The lack of online play really hurts the game, but you CAN fill in slots with bots, and since the game is at it's best with all 4 player slots filled, you would be best served to make use of said bots. The multiplayer has standard modes like deathmatch, king of the hill, and capture the fish (flag) as well as the somewhat unique Dodgeball. Dodgeball still plays like a deathmatch but has a deathdealing dodgeball that will kill any player it hits in a single blow and is probably the most standout of multiplayer modes. There's a decidedly Super Smash Bros. feel to the game, with the fast-moving chaos of fighting and random weapons/powerups that fall from the sky, but Ragdoll Kung-Fu definitely does not live up to the same standard of quality as Smash Bros.
That said, the chaotic gameplay, jerky motion-sensitive special moves, and general sense of humor make this game a worthwhile download...while free. Once May 21st hits and the game goes back to its regular retail price of $10 however, you'd be better off spending your money elsewhere. And good luck getting the annoyingly catchy theme song that plays from the XMB out of your head. "Aaaaaahhhhh Ragdoll Kung-Fuuuuu..."

Apocalypse Later. Darksiders: Wrath of War

2009-05-19T03:30:00.010-04:00

So ign has a pretty nice pre-E3 preview of THQ's Darksiders: Wrath of War up. The game seems to be shaping up pretty well, but I still find it annoying there has yet to be any mention of this game's original announcement back in 2003 as a PS2 game, but maybe that's because the only known details at the time were that you played as at least one of the Four Horesmen attempting to stop the coming apocalypse...I don't know.

The graphics, especially on some of the characters, still kind of bug me. In some shots they look just fine, yet in others look almost as if it's from the latest World of Warcraft expansion (easy WoW fanatics, the art direction is excellent, but technologically speaking it's definitely last-gen). Like I said, something's just...off. The game is still in development though, so I'll save final judgement until then.
Anyway, if you're interested in more detail on the game than my rambling will get you, I advise you to check out the preview.

Bionic Commando

2009-05-19T03:00:00.011-04:00

Well, yet another game about saving a city after a cataclysmic explosion got reviewed this week, this time it's Grin-developed Bionic Commando. This follow-up to the classic NES game (which received a remake last August, also handled by Grin.) is available on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
There are two reviews you can check out, courtesy of joystiq and ign, both of which paint the game in a pretty favorable light.
The general setup is as follows, series protagonist Nathan "Rad" Spencer (yes...I know, but ridiculous names are what you get when your game is based on a title from the '80s) has been imprisoned for the past 10 years after being framed for a crime. Said framing is also responsible for creating a negative attitude towards any bionically-enhanced persons. So Nathan sits in prison with only one arm (I get you don't like bionics, Ascension City, but not even a prosthetic?) until a terrorist group sets of a big explosion that levels Ascension City and commanding officer Super Joe (damn you '80s) sets him free to put a stop to the terrorists.
Commando Nathan is promptly reunited with his arm and regains the Bionic prefix before setting of for all kinds of swinging, gunplaying, car-throwing, dreadlock-having gameplay. From what I've read there are a few issues with the game (slow start, rigid linearity) that chip away at its overall quality but since I haven't played it you're probably better off reading through the reviews on either site (or both!).

Uncharted 2: Six Minutes of "Hells yeah!"

2009-05-19T02:35:00.007-04:00

Although I doubt anyone out there is anticipating Uncharted's sequel quite as much as I am due to my rampant Naughty Dog fanboyism, (any job openings, guys?) you can probably still appreciate this nearly six minutes (5:40) of gameplay footage from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, courtesy of ign.

First, put on some sort of protective headwear in case of an actual mind-blowing, then click here.

Sucker Punch delivers inFAMOUS or inFAMOUS delivers sucker punch?

2009-05-19T02:03:00.012-04:00

So developer Sucker Punch's latest game inFAMOUS is about a week away from release now, close enough for it to be getting review scores from some of the bigger gaming publications (both print and digital) and if Metacritic is any indication, Sony has nabbed itself another slam-dunk exclusive for it's Playstation 3.
For those of you that haven't been following the game, inFAMOUS gives you an open-world city (Empire City) in the vein of Grand Theft Auto 4 while adding the "climb whatever you want" headline of Assassin's Creed and a dash of electricity based superpowers for protagonist Cole.
The story goes like this: Cole is a bike messenger, just a regular guy, until one of the packages he's delivering goes "BOOM!" As in a city-levelling "boom." So the city's left more or less destroyed, the government's quarantined it (I wonder if that took as long as it did to get water to the Superdome?) and Cole's left in a coma. That is, until he wakes up with more electricity at his fingertips than someone wearing wool feety pajamas in house made of shag carpet.
The game then sets off to let you fill your superhero/supervillain fantasies in pursuit of an answer to the question "Do you save it all, or destroy what's left?" that was asked in the inFAMOUS debut trailer. What this means is you'll spend the game facing morality choices determining if you're a good witch or a bad witch...I mean superhero. Some of these choices are obvious ones that the game points out to you by actually pausing things and asking if you want to be good or bad, others just depend on how you act throughout the game; do you drain passerby of their body's electrical energy to refill your own powers or maybe use your hands as defibrillator's on the heart failure victim laying on the sidewalk? The bigger morality choices that the game points out to you are in fact handled slightly better than the choices offered in other games where morality is a factor in gameplay; there's actually realistic justification for the "bad" decisions. In fact, "selfish" or "benevolent" are more accurate desciptors than "good" or "bad."
All in all inFAMOUS sounds like it fully delivered on its awesomeness quota. With the PS3's recent ability to pump out truly AAA exclusive titles one after another the only thing that really seems to be holding back the system's success is Sony's refusal to drop the price low enough to not require a payment plan. Oh well, there's always "surprise" E3 announcements. And here's to hoping God of War 3, Heavy Rain, and Fat Princess keep up the current trend.

Artistic Differences

2009-03-06T08:40:00.004-05:00

Left 4 Duty

2008-10-29T13:25:00.002-04:00

Keeping in theme with my last post...

Alright, i know you're all excited about Call of Duty 5: World at War but...stop it! Seriously. it's not being made by the same guys that made Call of Duty 4; Infinity Ward. You know them, these are the guys that started the series with COD and COD2 and then COD3 was handed over to Treyarch who made a spectacularly mediocre game.
But it's the same problem as Guitar Hero, people just see "Call of Duty" and assume it's gonna be up to the same quality standards as the previous title. Well i can pretty much assure you it's not. And if you don't believe me, apparently Treyarch is planning on putting zombies in this one. Yeah, zombies are cool and all, but not when they're supposed to be in a realistic WWII shooter. Hello! Seriously!? But i don't know who to be more angry with, Treyarch or the geniuses at Activision who keep handing the reins of the series over to them. So yeah, even if i hadn't been planning to before, i'll definitely be skipping this COD installment.

effing zombies...sheesh...

The Name Game.

2008-10-27T02:03:00.002-04:00

So the reviews for Guitar Hero: World Tour are out...and pretty much confirm what i've been saying...well to my friends, not on here: adding extra stuff/drum pads doesn't necessarily make a better game. But let me back up for a minute.
Many people made the decision to take Guitar Hero III (and also World Tour) over Rock Band based on the idea "Well i'm gonna stick with the original; Guitar Hero." Which makes perfect sense, except for one small problem, guitar hero III and IV are not, i repeat not, the original. The guys who actually made Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II, Harmonix (also responsible for the sorely underappreciate FreQuency and Amplitude, think 1-man Rock Band using a standard controller...maybe that's too hard...just google 'em) moved on to make Rock Band. So the guys responsible for the acxtual GAME Guitar Hero are making Rock Band now, i.e. Rock Band is really the "original." So even though Neversoft has been playing the copy-what-you-did-and-add-some-bullet-points game, they still can't match the quality and experince in music games maintained by Harmonix.
I actually have a friend who went the Guitar Heor>Rock Band route who said to me one day: "I like the Rock Band game better, but i prefer the Guitar Hero guitar." And this is exactly the kind of attitude that is the problem, everyone would rather have what's familiar that what's genuinely better. Personally i prefer the more realistic look and feel of the Rock Band Stratocaster, but i can understand the "hey, it's still just a game" aesthetic of the Guitar Hero SG/Les Paul. What i can't understand is choosing to make such an investment based on such a relatively insignificant factor as having the "original" name or guitar. And i'm not even going to get into the HUGE discrepancy between RB's downloadable content and GH's.
Harmonix continues to impress with the continued quality of their work even without the recognition of the brand they built while never soft slowly falters with the quality of that brand. So wake up, people! This is the same kind of debacle as the F.E.A.R. sequel, just because it's got the Guitar Hero outfit, doesn't mean it's got the Guitar Hero soul. I'm being metaphorical if you didn't catch that. But seriously, try playing the game, or at least reading about it, don't just go on the name alone...

Red Rings Still Getting Microsoft in Trouble

2008-10-20T08:18:00.002-04:00

So i was reading about this today and was reminded of a friend who tried to convince me that the Playstation 3 hardware breaks down more often than the Xbox 360 hardware. Well...guess he wont' be getting any money from this suit then...

If i could paraphrase a Papa John's commercial: "Better ingredients, better system; Playstation."

(PS3) Dead System Space Shock

2008-10-11T19:33:00.003-04:00

So i've been fairly excited about Dead Space since it's initial announcement. Even more so with the "animated comics" that have been released on the PSN the past few months, and the visual style of these comics being reminiscent of 30 Days of Night just pushes that excitement a little further.
But the thing that really gets my survival sci-fi juices flowing even more than IGN's encouraging review is how much the game reminds me of System Shock 2. System Shock 2 remains, to this day, one of my favorite games of all time. The "spiritual" predecessor to BioShock, this game was once eclipsed by the original Half-Life. While Half-Life was a phenomenal, genre-changing game in it's own right, i'm of the opinion that System Shock was the vastly superior title.
Utilizing the same character customization abilities you find in BioShock, system shock set it's story upon a massive, derelict spaceship. Something has gone horribly wrong since the crew discovered something on one of the planets they explored and it has since turned the other crew members into zombie-like monsters. Anyone seeing the similarities to Dead Space yet? All this is made even more interesting by the fact that EA, Dead Space's publisher, was the original publisher for System Shock 2. The developer, Irrational Games, became 2k Boston which made BioShock. However EA still owns the rights to System Shock, which is why BioShock wasn't a direct sequel and why lead designer, Ken Levine, wasn't even allowed to meniton the System Shock games in interviews about BioShock. Hmmm...
I don't want to say too much more for fear of ruining this game's outstanding story, but you should def read about the story of the first game here as it'll come up in the second (especially if you're paying attention) and then go find yourself a copy of the game and play it. I recommend getting the "rebirth" patch to improve the graphics as well...it's a very noticeable difference. You can def find a System Shock 2 torrent to download somewhere, although i must note High Technology does not condone piracy. (hah! take that you legal types) Even though the game is nearly a decade old and it's highly unlikely there are any retail versions available to purchase even if you wanted to go that route.
But anyways, find it, play it, remember it. And by the time i do all that i should have bought, played, and reviewed Dead Space and we can all see how it stacks up.

Use your voice: Don't vote.

2008-10-09T08:00:00.004-04:00

Goin a little off topic today, but with the current event foremost in a lot of people's minds, the presidential election, i thought i'd share something:

The electoral college perpetuates a system that is so broken the majority of the country can vote for one candidate and the presidency still goes to another. A system that renders my vote essentially worthless. This is like asking a child what they want for dinner then, after they tell you cake, going ahead and making spaghetti anyway. If you don't believe i have the intelligence to make the decision don't insult me by casting the illusion that i have a say in the matter. I refuse to participate until such a fundamentally flawed system is fixed.
So as much as i'd love to finally have health insurance made possible for me by Obama's universal healthcare plan, (with the added bonus of it being paid for largely by raising taxes on all the rich bastards Bush has been giving breaks to the past 8 years) i still refuse to participate in this election. I may worry that we will end up with the same "just do it my way and the hell with the rules" mentality in McCain that has been driving us into the ground via Bush for the past 8 years (although he seems far more intelligence and has several good ideas for change and improving our country's situation) i still will not vote. So no, facebook, bug me all you want, i still won't vote. No, MTV, as cool as you think your ads are, i still won't vote. No, random ensemble of celebrities, your reverse psychology tv ad won't work on me, i WILL NOT VOTE.
But my voice alone will do nothing. So i urge you, do not vote (or maybe vote Obama and save this for 4 years from now...i need health insurance dammit). But don't' simply abstain, tell everyone WHY you're not voting. Tell them you refuse to bend to this arbitrary process until your vote actually carries some weight and your decision might actually influence who becomes president. We are not children asking that we have cake for dinner, we are adults making a decision about who is going to be running the country we live in. That's why we have to wait until we're 18 isn't it?

(PS3) Warhawk: Get in the ZONES!

2008-09-29T11:17:00.003-04:00

Now, i still LOVE Warhawk and the Icarus Jetpacks turned out to a be a lot more fun and balanced than i thought they would...but why is it no one seems to play Zones? I personally consider Zones to be the best game type Warhawk has to offer, although i still haven't made my decision on Hero or Collection. For one the implementation of the Zones (across all the game types) is pretty unique to Warhawk, secondly it offers far more strategy than DM, TDM, or even CTF, and lastly, it's one of the best ways to earn points in ranked matches. Sure you can get more points for capturing or returning a flag, but you have to be that ONE guy who pulls it off. In Zones there's plenty of zone capturing and defense to be had by all. And think of the fun when the other team thinks they're pwning you as they capture zone after zone all the way to your base, only to have you and/or a couple teammates sneak to the other, relatively undefended side of the map to capture zones behind the enemy line, forcing them to return back in that direction. This splits their forces between two battlefronts (although yours will be as well...likely to a lesser degree) and creates a pincer as you have their team sandwiched in between two forces of yours. FUN!! So Warhawk players everywhere, get out there and get in them ZONES!!!

(Movies) Villains for the third Batman relaunch movie (Dark Knight's sequel)

2008-09-29T10:47:00.004-04:00

With the outstanding success of The Dark Knight there has been lots of talk about the possible third installment in the series of "newer, realler" batman movies, and especially the villains it will enlist. So far it seems like Catwoman and The Riddler are the safest bets, from what i've heard around the net anyway, but if you would entertain my rant about this for a moment:
There was an article on IGN discussing these possibilities (i couldn't' find the article to link to so...find it yourselves :P) and how it would work out, this is the basis for most of my rant.
Catwoman: The article on IGN said that they'd love it to be Catowman, but couldn't see how it would work with the costume considering it took an entire movie to explain Batman's costume, but i cam up with a solution for this almost immediately, mostly because it works perfectly within the story idea i had involving catwoman and would, in fact, be almost necessary to that story. So, before i get to the costume dilemma, let me elaborate on the story.
The first two movies have already explored how Bruce Wayne's Batman persona has crippled his romantic life, and i think we could take this a step further with Selena Kyle/Catwoman. No longer held at bay simply by disagreeing with the principles of vigilantism Batman represents, Selena Kyle as a love interest could put an even bigger strain on Bruce Wayne's relationship with his alter ego. Throughout all the mediums Batman has taken residence in, the relationship with Selena has been his most interesting romantic challenge, Batman and Catwoman are on opposing sides of the law, and Bruce Wayne and Selena Kyle know this about each other, creating an intricate tango between their affections for each other, and their alter ego's opposing moral views. Considering the idea this new series of Batman movies has taken with putting a superhero in the real world, it seems the best path to continue exploring just how strenuous it would be on a person's normal life, especially when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex, and we could watch as Bruce Wayne becomes more torn between his symbol of justice and wanting release form his duties as Gotham's Dark Knight.
And now we get to IGN's issue with the costume: it's the ears people! POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT!! At the end of The Dark Knight Batman is on the run from Gotham police who believe he has murdered several officers and political figures. This is where i think Catowman, and her costume could be of the greatest help. Possibly the most defining feature of Batman's costume are his ears, something that could be easily mistaken for...cat ears maybe? And having Catwoman at some point voluntarily take the blame for Batman's crimes (once again shifting the blame from the actual perpetrator) could throw an interesting wrench into her perceived role as "villain" as well as explain her need for the iconic costume (excluding Halle Berry's travesty). It would be a simple enough plan, she's a cat burglar, and the ears will have the aforementioned effect...like i said: simple.
As for the actress, i've heard mumblings of Angelina Jolie. Fair enough, she'd probably do it quite well, but she strikes me as more the barroom brawl, knock-down drag out fighting type. Catwoman, it seems, should have a more flexible, acrobatic fighting style, better suited to a woman of more slender body type like Kate Beckinsale (Underworld) or Ali Larter (Heroes), both of whom are obviously familiar with superhero type roles. But that's just one man's opinion.
The Riddler: I actually like IGN's idea of having The Riddler be a character brought in to help hunt down batman; a kind of rogue genius who operates as freelance law enforcement. However, there's also the need for him to either transition to villain or secretly be playing that role behind the scenes the entire time, so he needs to be TWISTED genius as well. My only suggestion here is one for the actor to play the role, an actor anyone could easily believe his genius is matched only by his depraved insanity: Crispin Glover (Willard, Charlie's Angels...ok, i never actually saw the movie but i did see a few minutes of his role, and it seemed pretty in-line with the creepy outsider type role he seems best suited too).

So those are my ideas for the third Batman movie villains. Discuss.

(PS3) Fracture Impressions (PSN Demo)

2008-09-18T22:22:00.004-04:00

Expectations are very important coming into something for the first time. And i must say, my expectations for Fracture were not very high. Sure, the whole terrain deformation aspect sounded cool; make hills and holes wherever you want! It sounded pretty gimmicky, and probably at the expense of the rest of the game. But after playing the Demo available yesterday on the PSN, i'm glad to say that i was wrong...so far at least.
The ability to alter the terrain around you is actually a lot more fun and a lot more relevant to the gameplay than i thought. I spent a significant amount of time in the demo just sitting in an empty area messing around with the terrain deformation and all the physics-enabled objects it affected. Make a hole under some boxes and they'll hover for a split second before dropping down, make a hill under those same objects and they'll be launched into the air. Even better, if you stand on top of a box and make a hill underneath it you'll ride that box up into the air! This feature even plays into the combat well; getting hammered while surrounded by enemies? Just make a hill next to you and give yourself some cover on one side. Or make a hill under some enemies and toss them into the air and shoot them while they're off balance and recovering from their fall. Once i even made a hole right underneath a guy and watched as the boxes he was hiding behind rolled over on top of him. There's the standard stuff you'd expect too; raise the ground here to reach a higher ledge, lower it hear to get under that fence, etc. but at least you an do all this rather intuitively with your gun, or "Entrencher," (L1's down and R1's up) instead of it being limited to your grenades, which was how the feature worked the last time i heard anything on this game.
The combat itself is pretty standard fare, save for the terrain deformation effect, of course. Run around with a targeting reticule, shoot the bad guys, rinse, repeat. There are def some cool weapons though, like a the gun that launches a missile underground and can be detonated whenever you wish, or the sticky bomb launcher; looks like these guys were playing some Ratchet and Clank.
The graphics, while not jaw-dropping are definitely serviceable. There are even some subtle detailed touches: pay close attention to the front of your character model and you'll notice there's a holographic HUD coming out of his suits color in front of his face. Kinda explains the HUD in the game, don't it? Although your commanding officer's face is noticeably more detailed than any other character, but maybe it just looks that way because he's all wrinkly...
Overall i actually enjoyed this demo a lot more than the Mercenaries 2 one i picked up while i was cruisin the PSN's Thursday update. I just hope it's able to keep the combat interesting enough that i won't get bored with making hills and holes throughout the course of the entire game. And the promising chaos of applying the Terrain Deformation (apparently that's the developer's official name for it...makes sense) to mulitplayer just sounds like fun. Here's to hoping and surpassed expectations!

PS3: 2.4 and beyond...

2008-09-03T01:41:00.007-04:00

Maybe i should have said 2.41 after the whole system crash debacle, but my system worked just fine with 2.4 so i'm stickin with it. But i digress. The point of this entry is that i can now say that when it comes to the Playstation 3 vs Xbox 360 argument the PS3 is the superior system in every way. Up until 2.4 i could go through the strengths and weaknesses of each system and say that came out basically even, and it was just a matter of preference. Also up until now, the only reason my entries leaned more towards PS3 was because i could only afford one system and went with the PS3 because it's online network was free and it had a Blu-ray player to show of my shiny new HDTV (I always knew Blu-ray would win out over HD-DVD anyway).
So now, yes, i'm afraid i must say that Playstation 3 is truly the superior system. But i can't just make a statement like that and not back it up, can i? Allow me to elaborate...

Hardware: The PS3 is simply a more powerful system. It is, if you're arguing with your monitor or even shaking your head right now, you are flat-out wrong. There is no way to make this a matter of opinion, the PS3 has more powerful innards; it is better, stronger, faster (let's call it the 600 dollar box instead of the 6 million dollar man though). This more powerful hardware means multiplatform titles will look better on PS3, although it's unlikely we'll see a bigger difference than we did from the PS2 to the original Xbox as that's roughly the same discrepancy in processing power. It hasn't shown very often thus far, but that can be easily attributed to the 360's year headstart (making it the more common lead development platform) and the genuinely new hardware of the PS3. PC gamers know how long it took before developers were properly able to take advantage of multithreaded games with dual core processors, and the PS3's Cell is essentially a septuple core processor! whoa. This should become even more apparent once we get studios really using PhyreEngine. Also, the PS3 never had any Red Ring of Death epidemic.
Media: One word: Blu-ray. Whether or not you like it as a movie format, (which i honestly don't understand to this day, it has nearly double the storage capacity of HD-DVD and twice the transfer rate) it's benefit to gaming is tremendous. With the increase in complexity of modern games come an increase in the amount of data that needs to be stored. And even if you can't wrap your head around that, consider how we needed these new formats just to have HD movies and that all these modern games are in HD. There ya go. Metal Gear Solid 4 had to be cut down to fit on a dual layer BD! That's a 50GB disc! How exactly are you going to fit that on an 8GB dvd? Yeah, i don't know either...but Kojima is a helluva lot smarter than i am.
Hard Drives: Yep, i know, the 360 has 'em too, hell so did the Xbox (so did the PS2 actually, but it came way to late for any good support) but the big advantage is that EVERY PS3 has a hard drive. This is important to developers, because that means they can account for this resource in making their games. 360 developers have to base their game on a system without a hard drive and maybe throw in some extra functionality or advantage for the users who do have one. Quite a step backwards on Microsoft's part.
Exclusive titles: Ok, so Sony was kinda weak here for a little too long, but they're picking up now. Besides, does anyone remember the 360's launch library? Uuuhhhh, ew. I'll take Resistance over Perfect Dark Zero anyday. But back to the present, they've got Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank Future, Heavenly Sword, Motorstorm, Warhawk, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Folklore (cult hit though it was) to name...the ones that i can think of right now. Now let's consider the worthwhile 360 exclusives: Gears of War (i've got that on my PC), Mass Effect (yeah, that one too) BioShock (yep, that as well, with better graphics and controls even. Oh yeah, and it's on it's way to PS3 with exclusive content) Halo 3 (i'm pretty sure it'll follow the first 2 and make it's way to my PC as well) Now let's have a look at the future. There's still Killzone 2, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, InFamous, Motorstorm:Pacific Rift, Valkyria Chronicles, Heavy Rain, The Agency, oh yeah and a version of Alone in the Dark that's actually enjoyable. I think i hit on pretty much every genre there, right?
Controller: Microsoft copied the DualShock, they've even admitted to this. Go back to the earliest days of the Xbox and you can find interviews and such with Msoft representatives saying that their goal was to combine the DualShock and Dreamcast controllers into what they came up with. And originally i was kind of torn between the new functionality the SIXAXIS offered and the force feedback the 360 controller gave me, but now there's the DualShock 3. And at least they didn't go with the Sidewinder looking boomerang controller. It may have been an attempt to copy the "wow" reaction elicited by the Wii-mote, but it still opens up new gameplay possibilities. Have you tried flying a Warhawk with motion control? It's a blast! (once you learn how to do it) Or how about the crazy soul-capturing spazfests in Folklore? That's just fun. And there's still new possibilities to be had. If i can digress for a moment to share one of my ideas with you: imagine a first-person shooter that has an enemy on the ceiling above you, instead of looking up to shoot it down, you simply tilt the controller sideways, pointing the gun straight up without adjustin your point of view, and BAM! Hells. Yeah. (i thought of this while watching Pineapple Express, watch it and see if you can figure out when)
Network: It's free. You Xbox fanboys can throw out "Live's only $50!" all you want, free is still free and 50 bucks is still 50 bucks. And 50 bucks can still get you a new game...yeah. This is really where the 2.4 firmware comes in. Also worth mentioning the firmware updates in general, it's nice knowing that i could have some cool new feature added to my system at anytime so long as there are enough people around the world that want it too. But now every little feature Live had and the PSN didn't, it's got it now. Cross-game friends lists? check. Downloadable shows and movies? check. (in HD even!) Easy to navigate online store? check. Achievements? check, but they call 'em trophies.
Now let's get into that; trophies. Worldwide bragging rights. No longer can you gloat just about how you outscore your bud in whatever online came you've played him in, now you can brag about how you've outscored him in gaming in general. w007! indeed. Not only that, but the trophy system is better, in my opinion. Each challenge bested doesn't get you an arbitrary number of points, it gets you a defined, universally recognizable trophy. The whole world participates in the Olympics right? Yeah, we all know what Gold, Silver, and Bronze stand for. (and mostly Platinum, I know the ladies do)
And then there's Home. Also free, like the network in general. With home, rather than just sending text messages to people you already know...somehow, you can walk your virtual ass around a virtual world, or into the virtual apartment of your virtual friend to set up some virtual games. That's virtually the shit!

So yeah, let's sum this up: Better hardware + better storage format + better controllers + better games + better network = better system. Period. That's not to say i don't like the 360, i actually do, very much. It's got some worthwhile things going for it (Live can still be crossed over to PC gamers...when they implement it) but now, when someone asks me which system is better, instead of saying "Weeelllll, what kinda depends on what kind of games you play and what kind of TV you have..." i say "Playstation 3, beyotch!!!"

It's like...God's vagina. Pineapple Express Review

2008-08-07T09:43:00.004-04:00

Pineapple Express. It's finally out and i've finally seen it. And it was worth the wait. From the opening scene that had one of my friends asking "are we in the right theater?" and me laughing to tears seconds later to the absurdity of the movies closing, this is the funniest film i've seen in a long time.
It's a shame when a movie comes out and all the funniest bits were in the previews (Thank You for Smoking lost some of it's luster to me because of this). Fortunately, that's not the case with Pineapple Express, even the bits shown in the previews became funnier when seen in context, a testament to the smart writing behind largely immature jokes. Even the action portions of the movie are littered with humor throughout, taking Hot Fuzz and combining it with stoner buddy comedy like Harold and Kumar or Half Baked.
James Franco and Seth Rogan both turn in fantastic performances. Rogan as the maybe a little too complacent Dale Denton and James Franco as the spot-on, absent-minded, everything's chill, Saul Silvers (and perhaps the fact that they're initials are SSDD pokes fun at just how normal, ordinary, and REAL these characters are). I even remember making a comment durign the movie, "Look at Saul's eyes! THAT is what someone looks like when they're baked." And the movie certainly has a spot-on depiction of what people blitzed off their asses are like; a little bit of the "it's funny cuz it's true" to even out the ridiculous circumstances this duo constantly find themselves in. It's these moments that truly are some of the funniest in the film, although the moments that just seem absolutely ludicrous definately have their merits, and laughs, as well.
As with most Apatow films, this movie is also about finding that poitn at which you need to grow up; stop hiding from responsibilty and accept it...and you can still get baked every once in awhile. So the majority of this film's potential audience, the stoner comedy crowd, will find exactly what they're looking for: a movie about getting toasted and the hilarious shenanigans that ensue. It's the characters, and they're relationships with each other, that give the movie more substance than this, and most, audiences woulld expect.
If I had to pick one weak opint for the movie, and i can really only think of one, it would be the ending. We never really get a chance to see Dale and Saul's realization that they need to grow up come to fruition. But even that has somethign to say, there's a big difference between knowing you need to grow up, and actually getting around to doing it, a truth the movie also pokes fun at with it's "riding into the sunset" ending. So go see Pineaple Express, go see it with your buddies, as it's everythign you'd expect from the guys that brough you 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

9.5/10

what the fork!? AGAIN!?

2008-08-02T19:24:00.005-04:00

Alright, so i had to reformat my hard drive and do a clean install of windows after it had gotten kinda unstable, i install/uninstall a lotta crap. Anyways, afterwards my Adobe CS3 Master Collection stopped working...just stopped, probably because it wasn't entirely legal. After i managed to get ahold of Photoshop and Illustrator CS2 (the two programs i use for Higher Technology) i discovered that only my text and a few sound files had copied to my backup drive, meaning all the work i'd done on the next few episodes of Higher Technology were gone. O joy, now i get to start all of them all over! Can you feel the sarcasm? Anyway, upon realizing this i did a quick sketch i'll share with you all now:

pretty much sums up my feelings about the whole thing...

How can i say...i told you so...?

2008-06-30T18:33:00.002-04:00

So, for anyone wondering if The Dark Knight is going to be able to live up to, or even surpass, Batman Begins i suggest you check out ign's review here.
And to all of you doubters who said "that's terrible idea," when you first heard Heath Ledger was going to be playing the joker, i suggest you also read the review, check out this comic, and finally direct your attention to the title of this post. Thank you.

(PS3) Review: Metal Gear Solid 4

2008-06-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

It's just as awesome as every other review you've read says it is. Now go play it.

Metal Database. AND: To answer about Raiden...

2008-06-20T13:34:00.006-04:00

So one of the things in thursday's PSN update was the Metal Gear Solid 4 database. A free add-on that gives you a multimedia encylcopedia with the entire history of Metal Gear characters, places, weapons, technologies, events, etc. This is...just cool, and a much smaller download size than i expected. Pretty much everything that you didn't even know that you didn't know is in this database, and it even keeps track of what you've read already. Also, a very cool feature, if you haven't beaten MGS4 yet, the databse "locks" all spoiler information that would ruin the game for you. Kojima-san certainly has a dedication to his storytelling.

I did find the answer to my question about Raiden in the database also. While not stated explicitly, it is implied that THIS (what's mentioned in the database) is why he became mostly cybernetic. Fair enough, but shouldn't that have been mentioned IN THE GAME? Of course there is the possibility that i missed it, but i'm almost done with my second playthrough (taking my time a lot more than the first) and it still doesn't seem to have been brought up. Whatever man, maybe i just need to have more conversations via codec.

(PS3) Fatal Inertia: Let me hear you say "...meh."

2008-06-20T12:53:00.005-04:00

Yeah, that was about my reaction to this game. A hovercraft racer in the same vein as WipeOut (or blatant ripoff of, depending on your level of cynicism/fanboyism) available as of 6/19 on the PSN as either a demo (reccomended first) or a full game for $29.99. But let me start from the very beginning, the opening cinematic. Why, exactly, is my driver a skintight leather clad female? Not that i don't like unrealistically hot rendered women as much as the next guy, but when i'm playing a game where that cinematic is the only time i'm actually going to see that character (racing game) at least make it entertaining or worthwhile in some way; make it a monkey! people love monkies!

Simian digressions aside, let's move on to my first real gripe with this game; the sense of speed. The really isn't any, i got a better sense of speed playing Mario Kart Wii, which actually kept popping into my head while i played the demo. Seriously, if i'm racing with a futuristic, ultra-advanced hovercraft, i want it to look like i'm going more than 30mph, damnit! The racing aspect does have its noteworthy points, however. The ability to adjust the pitch of your craft slightly up or down allows you to maintain a much better speed while on a slope or incline of you adjust your craft's orientation to parallel the ground. Pretty cool, and i hope they utilize it throughout the game, but i don't see it remaining all that entrancing for more than the first few times it's used. There's also the ability to strafe, which allows you to avoid incoming weapons, make sharper turns, and barrel-roll if double-tapped. Also kinda cool to mess with while racing, but again, not compensation for the severely lacking sense of speed.

Did i mention there are weapons in these reaces? Oh yes. Everything from battle of Hoth style cables, to rockets, magnets (yes, magnets) and EMP's to disable everyone aroudn you's vehicle. The weapons are actually pretty cool and all have some kind of alternate fire, whether it's jsut firing backwards or riding the rocket for a speed boost instead of firing it. The cable in particular is fun with this, you can attach it to the vehicle in front of you to launch yourself forward and disconnect jsut as you fly by them, or attach it to the wall at a sharp turn to swing yourself Batman-style, pretty fun to jsut mess around with, for profit or not. There was one thing about the weapons that bothered me, and it wasn't even really abotu the weapons, it was about their marketing. All i kept hearing about leading up to racing (in meadia and in the game itself) was these "physics-based" weapons. Uhhh, ok. Yeah, i definately see where physics plays into the weapons -- a shackwave that knocks around surrounding craft, anythign with the cable -- but it doesn't really stand out above every other weapon system in every other weapon-enabled racing game. In fact, if i hadn't been staring at the game going "next-gen physics, next-gen physics, lookin for next-gen physics," i probably wouldn't have noticed at all. I suppose that's not really a fault of the game though, just lack of creativity/over-hyping on the designers' part.

There are some cool variants when it comes to the racing though. One match gave all the racers infinite magnets (they make the craft stick together or to other metal objects if too close) and no other weapons. Sounds novel, except that all i had to do was get in first and keep dropping my infinite supply of magnets behind me for all the other guys to run into. Elimination mode was another race type i encountered in my time with the demo. Every lap the driver in last place is "eliminated," read: you explode. Definitely a cool way to race, except that in the track i was on i managed to take a turn too sharp and put myself on an earlier part of the track without crossing the start/finish line, meaning i was actually in last. Now the seperation between these two lanes on the track was NOT marked, so inly knew id' shifted myself backwards from teh big flashing "Elimination Warning" on my screen. Maybe a little less time on the "physics" and more on the track design, huh guys? Also, form what i can gather form the demo you only end up getting a total of three vehicle to shoose from. ...THREE!!? REALLY!? That's beyond disappointing, but maybe the promise of customizing your vehicle will soften that...assuming you get to mess with more than THREE parts on your vehicle.

All of this isn't to say that i hate the game, i just don't really like it either; it's just: ...meh. That attitude actually sums up the last thing i'd like to mention, the graphics. While not standout, the visuals are certainly servicable, and shiny! All in all, i'd say the visuals are abotu what i'd expect from a $30 downloadable title. There's also splitscreen (2 player) and online (8 player) multiplayer i didn't get a chance to tryout, but all to consider there is lag and stability, soooo...yeah. So if you just can't wait for WipeOut HD to get your racing, shooting hovercraft fix, and have 30 bucks you don't need, get Fatal Inertia. Otherwise you're probably better off just waiting for WipeOut.

PS3: !!SPOILERTASTIC!! Metal Gear Solid 4: Sooo...why's Raiden a cyborg ninja?

2008-06-15T05:36:00.002-04:00

So i finished mgs4 earlier today and besides wanting to immediately start a new game (which i didn't because i needed sleep) there was one thing that was never explained: why did Raiden become a cybernetic ninja? Last time i saw him he was standing in a crowd of people in new york and now everything but his head, heart and spine are cybernetic prosthetics? WTF!? when did this happen and why? was he just bored with not being able to sword fight with his foot/teeth? was there a terrible accident where he sat in a hot tub full of acid? no one ever even asks: "So, what's with the crazy new transparent lower lip/oddly Gekko-like feet/white blood/ability to withstand swords through the abdomen? Something crazy happen?" You can't just leave that stuff out, man! And at the end he's had it all replaced with an organic looking body, only clearly attached in the exact same shaped patches as his previous ninja body! ...well...uhhhh...what?

Pineapple Express

2008-05-24T01:47:00.002-04:00

For those of you who haven't gotten the redband trailer off the Playstation Store yet, here it is. And to those of you who have no idea what this movie is: click the same link. Seriously, this movie looks epic, in every way. Judd Apatow has yet to let me down as well, so the movie's got a couple things going for it. Lastly, if you have any kind of musical taste you'll like the song played for the latter half of the trailer, that song is Paper Planes by M.I.A. and i suggest you obtain it as quickly and *cough* legally as possible.

MotorStorm (PS3): Where have all the drivers gone?

2008-05-22T07:09:00.003-04:00

With the somewhat recent revealing of MotorStorm: Pacific Rift i decided to get back into playing the original MotorStorm online. The game in general was a blasty-blast afterall, even if it was a little bare feature-wise. The only problem with my little revival is the online MotorStorm community seems pretty bare these days (and why are all the players on the west coast?). I get that it was a while ago at this point the game released, but the graphics still hold up pretty well and the overall arcadey, over-the-top off-road racing isn't any less fun now. Maybe everyone else just needs a little more time for those Pacific Rift screens and videos to start the same itch it they did for me. One can hope...

The importance of paying attention: Dead Space and Dark Void

2008-05-19T23:57:00.007-04:00

So at first glance i expected these forthcoming original IP's to be very similar, a big disappointment when you're looking at original games to overshadow the glut of sequels common to the gaming world. I mean...come on; main characters enclosed in helmets with gloing, unnaturally oriented eye slits, emphasis on defying gravity and limited HUD, even the titles sound similar as all hell. But closer inspection showed to very different, and somewhat promising titles. 1up.com has some excellent previews on both games here (DV) and here (DS) but i'll give you a quick lowdown on what sets these games apart from one another:

Dark Void: You take on the role of a cargo pilot that has been sucked into the Bermuda Triangle into the titular Dark Void amidst a war going on against the inhabiting "Watchers." The game plays out like most cover-based shooters (think Gears of War) only vertically instead of horizontally, with new abilities gained through self-augmentation with Watcher technology. The latter raises some very Too Human like issues about how to maintain your humanity while simultaneously giving it away in favor of more power. The vertical combat seems like an interesting (if perhaps gimmicky) twist, allowing players to simply throw enemies over the side. Later on players even acquire the power of flight, changing the combat yet again. All in all a seemingly much faster paced more action oriented title than Dead Space.

Dead Space: Playing as an engineer sent to repair a mining vessel in deep space only to discover that an alien virus has overrun the ship and killed/mutated the majority of the crew and wrecked the ship, which is where the gravity-free gameplay portions come from. While the setup is very familiar, there is one key difference: you character, Isaac Clarke, is not a soldier in any way, he's an engineer. For those of you used to non-military personnel like Gordon Freeman (Half-Life) i'll explain: Isaac has no truly traditional weapons, you'll be fighting with mining and repair equipment rather than assault rifles and futuristic pulse weapons. This fact kicks up the adrenaline factor with enemies even more since the only way to kill them is through prompt, i mean PROMPT, dismemberment...think cult movie Re-Animator. Severed limbs can and will attack you if not dealt with accordingly. Being a survival-horror title, Dead Space should have a much more deliberate pace than Dark Void, except when it comes time to combat; the up-close, frantic fights with powerful, disgusting enemies may make Dark Void seem pedestrian by comparison.

Hiatus much?

2008-05-19T23:50:00.003-04:00

So it's been a little while...ok it's been a really long frickin time since i posted anything. I guess that's the thing with chaos though, you can't exactly predict when it's gonna show up or when it's gonna leave. Unforunately this has made a lot of my planned content moot and certain things even screwed up planned (and partially drawn) editions of Higher Technology. I do have some new stuff i'll be posting over the next few days and even went back to work on sketching out some ideas for new cartoons. i should even have something worthwhile... well interesting at least to post here shortly. in SUMMARY: i'm back and i've got stuff to write about, woo!

Higher Technology: In Rememberance

2008-01-29T21:13:00.000-05:00

Higher Technology: Rock Band

2008-01-29T17:42:00.001-05:00

I feel i should mention that i live next door to a cop.

Review: Turok Demo (PS3)

2008-01-19T16:10:00.000-05:00

Finally, some hands-on time with the game saddled with bringing the Turok franchise back to...well as far away from Tobias Bruckner as possible. After playing through the demo a couple times i have to say, not only does this newest installment seem to be a significant step up from (D)Evolution, but it's pretty damn good.
Starting the demo in a "labyrinthine cave system" may not have been the best move, as it's easy to get turned around and it's a little too dark for a game that doesn't offer a flashlight. While this is a rather discouraging way to start out, play on and it will be worth it. It won't be long before you and your pal Slade (voiced by "Hellboy" Ron Perlman, bonus!) come across some raptors and the fighting begins. While some elements of the environment are somewhat blocky, the character and enemy (especially dinosaur) models are quite pretty, if a little too shiny; this may be as close to getting in Jurassic Park as you're going to get for awhile. Not all the dinosaurs are enemies either, i came across two types that were content to wonder around and simply ignore me and my squadmates, it added to the "you are in dinosaurland" feel, but i still prefer the ones i get to fight. Speaking of fighting, i feel like i should mention the weapon/inventory setup. You can only carry two weapons and are capable of double wielding similar to Halo, however, in my opinion, Turok does it better. To explain further, you can choose to carry either one of your two weapons or dual wield them, the tradeoff with dual-weilding being that you can't toss grenades or zoom. You can even choose which weapon goes in which hand, a nice touch for players that may prefer to fire their primary weapon with their left hand, or just like to have options. Besides your two weapons, you have a knife (more on that in a second) and a bow, both handy for stealthy kills. Through the course of the demo i came across a sub-machine gun, shotgun (with flare gun alt fire) and a pulse rifle, all of which i found quite fun to mow through enemies with.
Now for the knife. The knife is fun, pure and simple. It's fun to run at a raptor, knife it right through the top of the skull and kick it's corpse aside, it's fun to sneak through tall grass behind a guy then jump up and take him out with the knife, it's just fun. And when it comes to killing, one thing Turok offers you as far as death dealing is options. It was fun to come upon a clearing of guys you're supposed to take out "quietly" and deciding if that means you're going to sneak around and take them all down with your knife, drop them from afar with your bow or firing a flare into the middle of them and letting the troops fight it out with the pack of raptors that draws. Of course that last one requires you to listen for the grunts of some dinos just out of sight right near the enemy patrol. I had a blasty blast going back and doing that section each of the various ways.
As far as story goes, they don't offer up much of anything new in the demo. You're still crashed on a planet that is, for some reason, full of dinosaurs as well as an enemy platoon of soldiers. You're name is still Turok and it's still your job to kill both of these groups...or letting them destroy each other (sigh, choices). By the end of the demo, however, i got the feeling that your squadmates don't like you very much, but maybe that's just me. And if you're wondering how helpful your fellow dinosaur killers are, the answer is very. In one particular scenario Slade fought alongside me with a shotgun while our friend with the sniper rifle (can't recall his name at the moment) picked guys off from the high ground. At one point i had even been tackled too the ground by a raptor and as he came in to try and eat my head (a fun little mini-game of it's own) Slade blasted him of with his shotgun, nice. The enemy's AI seems decent enough, they took cover, dodged around while shooting back, and made some attempts to flank, so i'll take it. Back to the story, the only other tidbit i was offered was something about main man Joseph Turok's training (with some mention of the Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans, a shoutout to the source material it seems) and how he got his scar. This sequence mostly had me going "huh?" but i'm sure/i hope it'll make sense in the full game.
That said, i did have a few issues with Turok. One, as i mentioned earlier, it can be easy to get turned lose your way. The opening sequence in the cave and some suprising dead-ends in the jungle were the worst, but i did manage to finish the demo, so i guess it's not too bad. Second was the damage system. I find it a little odd that i can take 4 or 5 tackles from a velociraptor and soldier on, but it only takes a handful of bullets to kill me. Psh, whatever, it least it's a progressive healing system rather than being on the search for med-packs. I had one other issue with the damage system, and that's how prominent the red "damage ring" around the screen is. After being knocked to the ground by a dino, i often found it hard to shoot back as i couldn't see past the red haze covering my screen, i understand that it's showing how damaged i am, but if i'm close to death while my attacker's still there, it'd be nice to be able to see them. My final issue with the game is somewhat of a nitpick and i'm sure won't be as prominent after adjusting to the game, but it was still annoying. Your weapons don't have any kind of counter as to how full the current clip is (there is a HUD indicator for total ammo). Each gun does have a SMALL light that blinks yellow when running low and red when empty, but the colors tend to blend in to the look of the weapon and can leave you empty without realizing it. The pulse-rifle was the only weapon not hampered by this issue. I understand that this method keeps the screen much clearer, but it can really screw you over in heated shootouts.

And that's it, here's to hoping the rest of the game keeps up the quality of the demo. In the same sentiment i say: Turok is back!

Rock Band (PS3): Out with the guitar, in with the wired Warhark

2008-01-18T00:12:00.000-05:00

I don't know what happened, but i can once again use wired/charging controllers with motion controls in Warhawk. There was a weird day where the invert up/down option wouldn't stay disabled, and the following day poof! all the issues were gone. The following day, however, my Rock Band Stratocaster lost functionality in the strum bar. CRAP! At least EA has an rather rapid and painless warranty/return process, esp if you have a credit card as collateral; and completely free either way.

Ah, well, i do enjoy rocking out the drums, as you can see from my abused pads.

The Shape of Things to Come.

2008-01-14T23:38:00.000-05:00

Alright, since i've been busier than i anticipated and haven't gotten up all of the content i planned, i'd like to take this time to post what i call "planned editorial content" to try and make up for all the things i haven't posted yet in case anyone actually reads this.

Another episode of my as-yet-unamed cartoon is in the works with several new features: Faces on characters! Movement! More dialogue! Cops!

I'm planning to start a feature i call "Overdue Reviews". First up, Assassin's Creed. Considering how mixed and numerous the reviews are on this game i'm going to try and go more in depth on the specifics of what was good and bad and focus less on the overall "score" of the game. I've got at least 2 more titles planned for this feature as well

The status of HD, updates and comments on the raging war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray

Movie/DVD reviews... because i said i would and haven't yet.

That's all i'm going to tell you for now. Back to work an actually finishing the stuff i just mentioned...

Breaking Warhawk

2008-01-13T22:41:00.000-05:00

So i've noticed something rather disconcerting recently in Warhawk, wired controllers don't allow motion control. I'm not sure when this came in, it could have been with the 1.2 patch, or the Operation: Omega Dawn booster pack but either way, it's a big suck. I hadn't noticed it initially as i'm typically using my wireless SIXAXIS, but at one point, while playing splitscreen online with a friend, noticed that my wired MadCatz controller wouldn't allow motion control for anything, flying, hovering, or ground vehicles no matter what method i used to enable the feature. At first i assumed it was a problem with the sub-standard controller (see the review) but found that the controller worked perfectly in flOw. The issue was compounded when i had to charge my SIXAXIS while playing the other night, and found that while the controller was plugged in i was unable to use motion controls. While the game is still addictive and a blast to play without them, the motion controls are one of it's better unique features, as well as a superior way to pilot a Warhawk (separate flight direction and aiming only possible through motion control are a big advantage, I can't even imagine how much more so with something like the FragFX.) So, Incog, if you're listening, whatever you did to Warhawk that caused this, would you fix it/put it back the way it was...please?

LINKS! (news on other sites)

2008-01-10T18:45:00.000-05:00

What new characters are you expecting in Soul Calibur IV? Did any of you say Yoda and Darth Vader? I better hear some James Earl Jones, that's all i have to say about that.

The next-gen Bionic Commando sequel looks to be coming along pretty well.

After countless delay announcements for Solid Snake's latest outing, Metal Gear Solid 4, it's nice to see a possibility of an earlier release.

Tired of fearing the "Red Ring of Death?" every time you boot your 360? Well apparently Bill Gates is on it.

Survival horror fans can start getting excited about/writing excessively long essays bashing Silent Hill V

Alright, cult classic (obscure) PSOne game fans, Vib Ribbon may make it's way to the Playstation Store.

Find out what games may be coming to the big screen. No, not yours, the REALLY big screen.

That's all for now, so go forth and read.

Review: MadCatz wired PS3 Controller

2008-01-09T01:46:00.001-05:00

Alright, so you have yourself a PS3, and if you picked it up before the price drop, owe some money to some unsavory characters as a result. But what's the fun of having a shiny new system without someone to play with? Of course, having someone else requires another controller, and you can't really count on any having a controller to use this early in the PS3's lifespan; unless, of course, you've got one of those PS2-to-PS3 adapters. But a PS2 doesn't have any motion-sensing capabilities, so if you wanna go multiplayer in something like flOw or WarHawk (assuming you use motion controls in WarHawk) you've still got to either shell out $50 for a SIXAXIS or find a third party solution that actually has SIXAXIS (read: motion sensing) functionality, that's where MadCatz comes in.
Personally i always like to have at least 1 wired controller, that way you've always got one controller to use that you don't have to worry about recharging. Also, at $29.99, the wired MadCatz is conisderably cheaper than Sony's offering; you can even opt for a wireless one for 10 dollars more and the 9 foot cord offer plenty of length for most room setups. However, since no 3rd party yet uses bluetooth, any wireless controller is going to use up one of your USB ports anyway.
Now, anyone that's held a SIXAXIS knows how light it is compared to the force-feedback enabled controllers, an issue we'll have to readjsut to when the DualShock 3 comes out.. This just doesn't translate very well to the MadCatz controller as it jsut doesn't feel very...solid at all, i might even go so far as to say it feels cheap. Another difference form the SIXAXIS most will notice is that the triggers are stiffer/springier. This is good in that they "pop" back out faster, although i doubt you'll ever find a situation that requires you to push the triggers fast enough to matter, and bad in that it takes more effort to depress the MadCatz triggers, which tires your fingers faster.The MadCatz, does, however have a "home" (PS) button which many other 3rd parties lack. Another advantage the controller has over other 3rd parties is it's own brand of tilt functionality, dubbed SixSense, which allows play in games like flOw, Toy Home, or even Lair if you're feeling masochistic.
From this point on, though, the MadCatz controller fails miserably in regards to longevity. After a little over a week, the numbered led's no longer lit to show which player, they still blink when the controller isn't "active" but once you push home to turn it on, you won't have any idea if you're 1st or 7th without checking the "Controller Settings" menu. Then there's the matter of the button labels. After about 2 weeks, the X and square buttons were no longer labeled, and the O and triangle had become noticeably faded. After a month there were no longer any labeled buttons, including Start, Select and Home; even the number indicators next to the led had rubbed off (not that it mattered since the lights no longer work anyway). The d-pad on this controller is your standard cross layout, but around the same time all the button labels had disappeared, left on the d-pad started acting up. The pad still senses when left is pushed, but you can't just hold it down, the controller "let's go" after a short period time and you have to let go and press again. Since there's not exactly an abundance of 2d sidescrollers on the PS3, this isn't likely to be a major issue, but this isn't something that should be happening so early in a controller's life.

To sum up, the wired MadCatz controller is good to have around when you've got someone else to play with (but don't wanna drop 50 bones to do so) and want the security of a controller that doesn't need to be charged. The bugs and defects, however, make even $30 a little steep. I mean, if a controller feels cheap in the beginning, and turns out to be very much poo, then you shouldn't be charging over 20, especially for wired.

Score: 5.5/10

Rock Band: Bangin on Mousepad

2008-01-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

Alright, anyone who plays Rock Band knows how loud the drums can be. Loud enough to drown out the music coming from the game itself. Fortunately, ingenious gamers came up with a cheap, easy, fix that involves mousepads and some rubber cement. While this solution certainly quiets the drums enough that you can actually hear that drum beat that you're...pretending to play, it's not quite as durable as the drum pads underneath.
After about a week i'd noticed the pads on the red (and to a lesser extent, green) drums were starting to, well, i guess fray would be the word to use, around the center where the drumsticks made contact. After three weeks, the red had a sizable wound near the middle and all the pads had begun to fray noticeably. Although still considerably quieter than the drums alone, the worn part is slightly louder. I don't know if i bang on my drums harder than most of you out there, but if you use this solution, maybe consider doing something to your sticks to soften them (plasti-dip?) otherwise after a few weeks you're going to be beating a dead...mouse...pad.

here's a pic of the red drum's current condition:

Higher Technology: WarHawk

2008-01-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

DMC4 (PS3/XB360): Devil May...wait, who now? ok, someone's Crying

2008-01-06T04:52:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about Devil May Cry 4 because...well honestly because it was too late/early for the noise Rock Band makes and i wasn't sure if i could stay awake long enough to invest in Uncharted again (more on both games and why the drums are still loud after the mouse pad mod at a later date).
Jumping around to different topics aside (sorry) i'm beginning to get worried about this new "Nero" kid i hear so much about. Mostly i'm worried about how we haven't seen this guy before and now he could comprise roughly 60% of your playing time. See, it's been my experience that when a game forces a new main character on you like that, you're not going to be very happy with the new guy. See example: Metal Gear Solid 2. Of course, 60% isn't as bad as the complete Raiden overhaul that was MGS2 (or SoL if you prefer that humorous pun of an abbreviation). But even Hideo learned from that one.
Alright, so he kind of cheated in MGS3 with the "original" snake, but it was still Snake in pretty much every way -- minus an eye -- so it satisfied. Kojimasan cheated again with Raiden in DMC4 also, if you think about it. He took a hated character (Raiden) and recast him as one of the series favorites (the Ninja) in an attempt to cancel out whiny girly-man Raiden hatred with pure Ninja coolness, and we love him for it. It's kind of like taking Jar-Jar and turning him into Boba Fett ...ok maybe not that hated a character, but you get what i mean.
The way i see it, if you wanna try and switch up the main character on your players at all, you gotta start them as prominent NPCs*. If that works out you can test them out with a small playable part**, maybe even make it optional a la Ninja Gaiden: Sigma, or go for a full-on spin-off title of their own*** if you've got the balls and the character's got the popularity****. This way, you don't run in to players in their own 60/40 split. 60% annoyed that they're not getting as much time with the character they know and love, 40% annoyed that they don't really have time to get used to this new guy.

So that's why i'm worried about DMC4. The series may have survived it's just-sufficient-to-tie-together-ridiculous/awesome-battles storyline and the coming of Kratos, but this move could end up hurting the series reputation, again kind of like MGS. Maybe Capcom will manage to pull it off, they have been doing this longer than i have, after all. I'll keep the fingers on my (insert heavy metal sounding name) hand crossed just in case.

*see: Crash Bandicoot 2, Jak and Daxter
**see: Crash Bandicoot 3, Jak2, Jak3
***see: Daxter*****
****I should mention; i love Naughty Dog
*****I didn't actually play Daxter, but see ****

The Orange Box (PS3/XB360/PC): Broken.

2008-01-04T23:15:00.000-05:00

Keeping with today's just decided theme of developer/publisher WTF!'s on PS3, i've got some rather good news for lovers of the awesome Orange Box (future review...?) and decriers of the sloppy PS3 port: Help is on the way. The Orange Box was, quite simply, phenomenal. Even if the games weren't of as high a quality as they are, there are FIVE games here for the price of one. Yeah, exactly. While i wag my finger harshly at EA for releasing such a shoddy port, i do appreciate the effort to remedy this. However, i do hope it's not going to become the pattern in this generation of broadband and hard drive equipped consoles to release unfinished/broken games just because they can be fixed with a patch later on.
And for those of you trying to cite this game as evidence that the Xbox360 is more powerful than the Playstation 3...well...i'd slap you, if i wan't afraid it would make you dumber. Look, i'm no fanboy, i LOVE the 360, it's a huge improvement over the original and evidence to the fact that Microsoft does pay attention what the gamers do (Live, advanced graphics/gameplay) and do not (comically huge system/controllers) want. But trying to say it's the more powerful system is just dumb. Yes, it does have more video ram available to it which is a big advantage for several things, especially for the developers; but just because i've got 2 gigs of RAM running with my Pentium III processor in one PC doesn't mean it's more powerful than a different PC running a Core 2 Quad CPU with 1 gig of RAM. Get me? (and no i don't have 2 pc's with those specs, it's an analogy people.) The difference in processing power between the PS3 and the 360 is roughly the same as the difference between the PS2 (=Xbox360) and the original Xbox (=PS3...funny ain't it?). I could give a rundown of the complete specs of both systems to prove my point, but i'm not geek enough to have them memorized and i don't feel like looking them all up right now.
...What a digression. Anyway, the point is this (other than "The Orange Box is awesome and they're finally fixing the shoddy PS3 port"), the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are two very different, very powerful, very good systems (not bringing the Wii into this or i'll be here all night). And until developers have had time to learn all the nuances of each console and how best to develop for each, we're gonna keep seeing stuff like this (it may even go the other way at some point). So don't jump all over some shoddy port and shove it in the face of every owner of your "rival" system; have some restraint, grow up a little bit, and enjoy what you've got.

GHIII and Rock Band(PS3/XB360): That Guitar Thing

2008-01-04T22:03:00.000-05:00

Alright, by now i'm sure that any of you that have any interest own either Guitar Hero III, Rock Band, or both (you lucky, lucky asshead). If you own it on the 360, i hope you're enjoying the plethora of peripherals you have to choose from. PS3 owners, however, are most certainly getting the shaft. It was bad enough i had to keep my PS2 around just so i could play GH 1 and 2, but now not only can i NOT use that controller for Rock Band, apparently i can't use the PS3 dedicated Guitar Hero III controller either!? seriously!!?
Personally, i'm not a fan of the fact that i can't have a guitaris AND a bassist at the same time while playing Rock Band. Now apparently, Harmonix was all set to release a patch allowing the previously named lucky assheads to use their GHIII controllers with Rock Band, the only way to have lead and bass as there are no standalone Rock Band guitars yet. So...we waited and then...BAM! A big "not so fast" from Activision and, assumedly Red Octane. Ok, Red, we get it, Harmonix left you and you're sour for it. Yeah, Harmonix took pretty much all the credit for the actual Guitar Hero game (uuhhh, aren't they developers and you're the publisher?). But pretty much every gaming source that i read referred to Guitar Hero as a Red Octane game, so i think you enjoyed enough of the credit, no?
And as if stopping that patch wasn't bad enough, you now expect us all to believe that it was actually Harmonix that stopped GHIII/RB peripheral interplay? Really? The studio that had a patch finished and all ready to be sent out (read: downloaded) was that one that said "You know, we don't want other controllers to work in our game." Right, and i've got an 8 foot tall leprechaun hiding under my bed. Just because you've decided to act like an angry 12-year-old doesn't mean the rest of us have been reduced to the intelligence of one. (Honestly, i wouldn't be surprised to find an email that went from one studio to the other that read: I know you are but what am I?) I had been considering buying Guitar Hero III (i already own Rock Band, hooray Christmas!) so that i could get not only another game that i enjoyed during my brief playtime with it, but a controller that would put a stop to the "but i can't/don't wanna sing" argument that breaks out with my current 3 player Rock Band setup. But if you can't act like mature adults, much less a multi-million selling game studio, then I, for one, will certainly not be purchasing Guitar Hero III at any time, and possibly GHIV, V, etc.
Lastly, Harmonix/MTV Games, i'm keeping my eye on you too. It does, after all, take 2 to argue like spoiled children...