For anyone who hasn’t given Fable II a shot yet can now check it out on Xbox Live as it has been opted for an episodic release. The first episode, which is available for free on Xbox Live allows gamers who may not be so confident in their abilities to check out the first of five installments completely free. The first episode will cover the childhood of your hero as well as the early quests while you’re still in your youth, complete with achievements. Once you’ve completed that first installment, you can opt to purchase the next episode or stop. Conversely, you can pick up the full retail copy and whatever you’ve completed episodically will be completely compatible. The episodes are also compatible with any of the add-on content that is currently available.
Slashdot reports on a story over at Crispy Gamer as to why we as gamers pay $60 of our hard earned dollars for the privilege to play video games. As the report points out, many games start at the price point of $59.99, but why has this occurred since this latest generation of games. Not all games are necessarily created equal nor do they take the same time to complete. I completed Mass Effect in 25 hours, yet spent 4 hours beating ODST the first time. So this begs the question, why do gamers and consumers on a larger scale tolerate this? When Hal Halpin, president and founder of the ECA was asked if the next price range would be in the arena of $70 – $80 for games he stated, “I’m not sure that we’ll see a standard $70 price point at all. To my mind, emerging technologies, subscriptions and episodic and downloadable content should all enable price drops — increasing accessibility to a much wider audience”
So Halo 3: ODST thusly came forth from the Heavens to deliver unto the faithful an expanded Halo adventure rooted firmly between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, however speaking as one of the faithful I’ve been left with some mixed feelings. While the story is compelling in all aspects and the game mechanics are definitely Bungie, I still felt as though the campaign was far too short, even for a campaign. Regardless I admit that I did have fun going through it and I have a feeling I’ll be doing so again at a more relaxed pace in the near future. Conversely, I’ve given a bit of thought to the cost of the entire package. The expansion campaign, firefight and multiplayer content are all able to stand alone on their own, but is it really worth the asking full price of a retail title? Ultimately though, what settled it for me was certain long-term elements as well as overall playability when it came time for the credits to roll and that’s what I’ve looked back upon most for this review.
Without spoiling too much, I will say that the story was well worth the money I paid for the game. From the introductory crawl of text that explains the dire situation the Humans are in as the war with the Covenant has dragged on, it becomes all the more poignant, driving the point home when the game bluntly reminds you that Humanity is losing and the Covenant aren’t just on the planetary doorstep, they’ve let themselves in. Dropping into New Mombasa, the visuals have held up extremely well despite the continued utilization of the Halo 3 engine, especially when the Covenant Carrier jumps to slipspace which tears the city apart, leaving you incapacitated in your pod for a few hours. Exploring the city becomes easier as you go on, however I noticed a definitive change in my play style as opposed to previous Halo titles. When happening upon an enemy patrol, I began to avoid the fights if I could. Nonetheless, it should be noted that the night combat is outstanding when utilizing the VISR that ODSTs have been blessed with thanks to the Navy, but is rendered virtually useless during the daytime sequences. Speaking of which, all of the major combat played throughout the game occurs when you’re in the boots of a different member of the squad. However, abstaining from gushing too much about the voice cast including several members of Firefly, each sequence is voice and plays out in a very well done way. It never really got boring, and I kept waiting for that to happen. But, to avoid any spoilers I will refrain from any plot reveals here. Suffice to say, it isn’t disappointing but does feel far too short.
Having completed the game on Normal difficulty in just a little bit over four hours, I can understand the gripes about the length of the campaign. At the same time, it should be noted that I didn’t really stop or search for the audiologs, however when I did stumble on one I would have to stop and listen as Sadie’s Story was extremely interesting. There were times when I debated just hunting for all the audiologs before continuing on with the campaign, but with time constraints and a deadline for a review, it had to wait. But every clue, every mission kept me going forward and the Superintendent helping me along made the gameplay all the more interesting. After discovering that the New Mombasa Artificial Intelligence would guide me via signs, lights and abandoned police cars towards audiologs, I would have to hesitate for the sake of time and glance at my map for the quickest possible route to my next objective. And I assure you, that you will use that map quite a bit. It points out Superintendent cache locations, item clues and of course, Covenant patrols. But the length of the game offers a significant amount of replay value. After playing through on Normal, I plan on going back and playing through on Legendary, co-op and looking for all of the audiologs so I can fill in the blanks of Sadie’s Story. Finishing the campaign though led me into trying Firefight, which became deeply concerning when I looked out the window and saw the sun rising.
Firefight is for all intents and purposes the Horde mode gamers have come to know, love and play relentlessly from Gears of War 2, except this time, the Covenant is trying to kill you and not the Locusts. I started giving it a shot around midnight last night and come 5am, I was under the impression that there was definitely an addictive quality to Firefight I couldn’t quite put my finger on. More importantly was the fact that I was playing by myself, I would love to know how it plays with a full on team of people working in unison. The combat is hectic and furious, as combat with a species bent on destroying humanity should be. Once the skulls entered the equation though, I had the feeling the game was trying to stack things against me in an almost unbeatable way. But it never felt unmanageable and consistently remained fun no matter how many times I received a fair and sound beating. And even though the Battle Rifle has been removed, I can still take solace in the sheer amount of havoc I’ve been able to lay down using the silence smg and pistol. Both feel powerful and not once when firing them did I not feel like a complete badass. It felt almost unrealistic at how easy it was to pull off headshots and drop every enemy from Grunts to Jackals and even the daunting Brutes. So I can say that I’m relieved that Bungie didn’t reinvent the wheel, however I do wish they would have given us more.
The overall package is sound and it is put together very well, but the cost will always be a matter of contention. The campaign in my opinion was worth the money, however I went into it with the understanding that what I was receiving is an expansion, not a full retail title. Think of a PC game expansion and in my opinion, the extension is maybe roughly 6 hours of gameplay therein. Thus, I can be content with what I have gotten out of the game so far and replaying through again on Legendary is simply icing on the cake. Additionally, the firefight content will keep me busy for sometime, be it alone or with friends, since I’ll be trying to get the game to a point where no more waves show up. I’m sure that’ll occupy my time easily in the foreseeable future. Finally, since I never purchased any of the Halo 3 multiplayer maps, the disc full of them is perfect as far as I’m concerned because now I can see what I’ve been missing since I stopped playing Halo 3 on Xbox Live. Hence in the grand scheme of things Halo 3: ODST is an acceptable purchase for me as everything I have received is all new content.
I admit that I am satisfied with ODST, but rightfully so since I am admittedly a huge Halo fan. But I don’t believe that Bungie made this title to appeal to anyone who hasn’t played Halo before. If you picked up Halo 3: ODST, it’s because you played any of the previous Halo titles and loved them. Thus, I believe that ODST is fun in it’s own right and does have a leg to stand on against other titles coming out this fall. However, I do feel that anyone who hasn’t played Halo prior to picking up ODST would most likely be lost amidst the lore, unless all they wanted to do was run around and shoot, in which case they’d feel right at home. But while the game is not perfect, it’s flaws are able to be overlooked because the underlying game mechanics are solid and the plot is well developed regardless of somewhat stereotypical characters. Truly, before buying this title, you should probably ask yourself if you’re a Halo fan or if you just like to run around and shoot things in the confines of a game. If you’re the former, definitely pick this title up, you won’t regret it. However, if you’re the latter of the two, you might be better off waiting for Modern Warfare 2 come November.
Over at Kotaku they inform us that user “kajsghkjab” has uploaded this handy cam video to youtube. As his sole video I would have to agree with Kotaku in that I think he is just trying to share some incredible gameplay footage.
This is Yusuf Amir, rival of Gay Tony set to hit the scene in The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC for GTA IV coming out at the end of October. While he seems like quite the fine gentleman, I wouldn’t say this trailer is SFW as there is the standard swearing as is expected in any GTA title. Regardless, this just serves to make me excited for the downloadable content.
Kotaku has reported that according to the homepage at Bungie.net a lot of people have found themselves exploring the remains of New Mombasa. In a 24 hours period, almost a million people have played roughly five million games of ODST. As Kotaku pointed out, odds are some people were blowing the average through the roof and simply staying up all night giving the Covenant what for. So, while Halo 3: ODST isn’t the definitive or defining moment for the Halo franchise, it is definitely standing out.
The video above is the latest Sessler’s Soapbox in which Adam comments on what he terms the ‘Halo Effect’. You ever notice how something is popular because it is around something that is exponentially more popular. The concept is explored as the popularity of Halo 3: ODST is distilled over the fact that it is either a fun game, it has Halo in it’s name or perhaps a combination of both.
Either way, I have a feeling these go hand in hand.
Joystiq reports that coming next Tuesday, Left 4 Dead players will have something to keep them occupied until the sequel is released in November. While taking place between “No Mercy” and “Death Toll”, the new iteration, “Crash Course” will surely keep gamers slaughtering hordes of the undead with a slew of survival maps and a new and improved version of Versus mode, which just serves to sweeten the deal along with the co-op. Releasing September 29th, it will be free to PC owners while Xbox 360 owners get to feel the squeeze of $7 or 560 MS points.
For anyone interested in resuming the destruction of video game Nazis, Wolfenstein is now available on Xbox Live for download. Speaking as someone who grew up playing Wolfenstein, I think the game is worth a shot. Then again, it was the first FPS I ever played and my dad still told me not to tell my mom he let me play it, however he never mentioned telling the internet. Add Wolfenstein Demo to your Xbox 360 download queue
Since Fallout 3 has been out for a while and I’ve had ample time to reflect upon my feelings of the game. I thought it was time I finally published a full on review for it.
The memorable Fallout 3 introductory cinematic paints a grim portrait for the apocalyptic future the player is intended to investigate. The gritty, “War never changes” preface, which has since long ago become a Fallout staple conveys the significance to the player that they are not being thrust into a gracious world, but a universe that, given the chance, is always trying to kill them. Opening with the birth of the player-controller character in Vault 101 the game immediately sets the player to work customizing the character. As you grow older, you are introduced to other residents of the Vault prior to your father escaping, which inevitably spurs your character to desire departing as well to endeavor into the Capital Wasteland. A main quest line, side quests as well as unmarked or repeatable quests see to it that the player will be significantly busy for sometime. Moreover, the player can leave the main quest at any given time and pursue alternate objectives, leaving a vast, open world that invites exploration. While the narrative of the main quest is strong enough to stand on its own, the side quests do at times feel arduous. However, during the course of exploring I noticed I was completing objectives for quests I had not even accepted yet. The main mission remained solid throughout and several of the side quests were enough of a pleasure that the prospect of downloadable content to expand upon Fallout 3 even further is enticing enough to aspire for playing through the title a second time.
The introduction level of the title, being in Vault 101 was remarkably well done by Bethesda. Allocating points to various traits by reading a children’s book, telling the player how special they are or taking a test to determine what job they’re destined for in the vault are just a couple of ways the immersion takes hold. Additionally, starting the game through the eyes of a child, whose birth causes your mother to lose her life and being raised by your father James (Impeccably voiced by Liam Neeson), impresses a connection to the character. As you grow up and are given the chance to wander the vault, the sterile environment feels both eerie and welcoming at the same time. However, this is before the player has ever set foot in the wasteland. Eventually, James makes his escape for reasons unknown and when the answers you receive are not enough, you leave as well. Prior to doing so, the game affords the player one final opportunity to change any specification about their character before opening the door leading into the bright, hostile world. As the player takes their first steps into the world, the pivotal moment is defined by the characters eyes seeing sunlight for the first time as the player’s screen fills with lens flare. Checking your Pip-Boy 3000, you realize as a player that you really have no idea where to go, and ultimately head towards the first settlement you see.
Upon entering Megaton, you’re faced with the opportunity to experience the first of many relative moral choices. Ambiguous or not, you are either tasked with destroying the city via the unexploded atomic weapon at the center of town, disarming it or simply ignoring it. Each choice sways the karmic standing of the player’s character towards the good, neutral or bad. Karma, in essence, relates what kind of person you are to the rest of the world and serving as a prime factor in whether you can activate certain perks, group with certain followers or how certain wastelanders acknowledge your presence. Furthermore, karma choices ultimately are illustrated during the final cutscene and contribute towards what ending the player obtains. While at times, it may seem beneficial to lean towards moral ambiguity, sometimes it’s just better to play through and be the good guy.
Moving from Megaton to Rivet City, and on to Arefu and The Brotherhood of Steel Citadel built inside what remains of the Pentagon, the entirety of the Capital Wasteland is worth exploring. Before I do that though, I will caution that this title is not for everyone, and I’ve stated that before. However, Bethesda is notorious for being adaptable at creating immersive games that have overall been fun to play and Fallout 3 is no exception. While taking the reins of the Fallout series, there have been mixed feelings in regards to the reception. Where Fallout was traditionally a dungeon crawler series, Fallout 3 has taken a page out of Oblivion and it shows. Being able to play the game from first or third person in addition to being able to shoot in either V.A.T.S utilizing action points or shooting without any assistance and hoping for the best, this is just scratching the surface. What really kept me playing though were the various narratives. The main quest was interesting, however, the side quests kept me coming back for more as they took a life of their own, giving the game a distinct Pulp Fiction feeling as all the stories in one way or another tie together giving way to a satisfying conclusion. But with the massive amount of downloadable content made available by Bethesda, the game doesn’t end there. Five different episodes, each capable of four to five hours of additional gameplay see to it that Fallout 3 maintains its longevity and keeps the players who really love the game coming back. Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta all offer up a different unique flavor relative to the universe in which they exist, and I can’t wait to explore them.
Ultimately though, as with any game, what it boils down to is whether or not the title was fun. I can assure you, that the game was fun and at times you’ll forget why because you are having so much fun. Ideally, it’s the exploration, combat and narrative that at the very basic level continued to intrigue me throughout the entire title, never making me feel like any of my fifty hours of gameplay were being wasted. The controls were tight and solid as I only found myself very occasionally fumbling with the controller enough where I would be forced to reload a save as a result of my error. The graphics are spot on, with very minute glitching, also easily fixed by loading a save. Sounds were ambient and created an atmosphere that put me in the Capital Wasteland and didn’t let go, while the overall playability offered a title that would welcome many gamers, but would be slightly off putting to any newcomers to the genre. Finally, with the ability to play through the game as good, evil and neutral and still not having explored every single location on my Pip Boy’s world map, I’m convinced that Fallout 3’s replay value is assured.
In the meantime, I would suggest anyone curious to checking out the original Fallout and Fallout 2 and see just how interesting these predecessors are in addition to the current iteration because while “War never changes”, exceptional games do to adapt to the times and I’m satisfied to keep Fallout 3 in my collection for a very long time to come.
It seems yet another retailer may decide not to carry the PSPgo. Edge reports that there is currently no mention of the upcoming handheld on the website for EB Games in Australia despite an October 1 release date while numerous employees have also confirmed that the product isn’t in the company’s computer system. The firm however declined to comment on the statement that it wouldn’t be stocking the product according to Kotaku nor would SCE Australia but was quoted, “In relation to our business and the launch of PSPgo, we are already experiencing solid support for launch day on October 1 in Australia… As with any new product, there will be continued discussions with retail partners to continue to expand reach over time in line with growth of the entire PSP platform.”
This comes at a time when the product has already met resistance from a Dutch retailer, which cited the device lacking physical media as one of the prime reasons for not carrying the product. This begs the question as to whether or not digital distribution can ever truly get off the ground for Sony if the device that is the linchpin of the strategy won’t be stocked by retailers fearing they may be setting themselves for financial failure.
It seems that a bit of interesting information regarding the Playstation 3 has surfaced. The document covers the motion controls that are being prepared for release by Sony. Specifically, it states that the controls should be ready for sale in Japan by March of 2010 and hopes are that they will sell between, “4-5MM units WW”. Additionally, the document goes on to discuss importing a PS2 emulator to the PS3, which would enable all Playstation 2 titles to be sold on the PSN along with Japanese games to be available in a special section. Moreover, Dreamcast games were also touched on in the document, a copy of which is available from Edge via Neogaf.
Everyone who was upset at the loss of the ability to play Gameboy Advance games when the DSi was released can finally relax. Slashdot writes to inform us that Darkchen, who’d grown bored waiting for Nintendo to start releasing GBA games on the DSi store, utilized the homebrew cartridge DS iPlayer to the same effect. The emulator comes with the ability to create save states in the emulation as well as use cheats and have access to various GBA utilities.
Well, it seems that ODST is so popular that keeping it from breaking street date is creeping into the realm of impossible. An anonymous tipster alerted that the Halo 3 expansion is now available for legal purchase in Dubai. After the debacle of the broken street date in France, I’m only left to wonder how Microsoft and Bungie would feel about this.
Seeing as a good chunk of the staff here at Massive Damage has already fallen in love with Batman: Arkham Asylum, it was surprising to see that Yahtzee over at Zero Punctuation was able to enjoy it too. While he usually reviews games for the sheer joy of announcing to the world what was exactly wrong with them, I can’t fault that sort of review process. However, I can be surprised that he liked it, really surprised.
According to a report from xbox360achievements.org, Left 4 Dead 2 has been refused classification in Australia. The stringent regulations surrounding the no adult rating classification is summed up in the classification refusal document stating, “the interactive nature of the game increases the overall impact of the frequent and intense depictions of violence. This coupled with the graphic depictions of blood and gore combine to create a playing impact which is high.”
Therefore, due to the fact that the game must fall within certain criteria that would allow gamers age 15 and older to play, the game has been effectively banned. Whether or not Valve will opt to change the game for sale in the country is yet to be announced.
The PSPgo is already causing a stir amongst retailers prior to it’s slated October release. Dutch game chain Nedgame, according to Kotaku via Eurogamer, is refusing to stock Sony’s next great handheld. Pointing out the high purchase price of the system, it is believed that it won’t sell and is therefore not worth stocking. However, significantly less surprising is that they point out the lack of UMD support for the PSPgo means sellers stand to lose revenue on the markup of game prices at retail as titles are downloadable to the PSPgo via the Playstation Network. This doesn’t seem to be isolated either as retailers in Spain may be moving towards the same decision. It should be interesting in the coming weeks to see how many retailers decide not to carry the PSPgo in comparison to how many do.
Game Politics posted an article this morning regarding Dr. Christopher Ferguson of Texas A&M on a new study involving violence and the media. The study, which is co-authored by Claudia San Miguel and Richard Hartley, maintains that kids being depressed and subject to peer delinquency are the more probable links between violence than say going on a rampage in Grand Theft Auto IV. It has been published in the Journal of Pediatrics and the abstract can be seen here. Furthermore, in an email to Game Politics, Dr. Ferguson summed up the study rather succinctly:
We examined multiple risk factors for violence in a sample of 603 mostly Hispanic youth… We assessed results across seven separate measures of youth violence and serious youth aggression, including the Child Behavior Checklist aggression and rule-breaking scales as reported by both children and their parents, involvement in violent and non-violent criminal behaviors and bullying behaviors against peers.
We found that depressed mood and association with delinquent peers were the strongest and most consistent risk factors for youth violence across outcome measures. Parents’ use of verbal cruelty in domestic relationships and the child’s antisocial personality traits were also reasonably strong predictors of violent behavior. By contrast video game violence exposure and television violence exposure were not found to be predictors of youth violence.
It certainly is pleasant to hear that the medical community is doing something to paint video games and those who play them in a better light than . After all, not all gamers are raving lunatics, just some of us. Thanks to Penny Arcade for the comic.
So, the last few Sonic titles haven’t exactly been close to capturing the spirit of the original Genesis games that many grew up knowing and loving. However, come 2010 Sonic may be making a triumphant return. Teasing an HD arrival of Sonic, which rules out the tile releasing on the Wii, makes for a certain amount intrigue. Hopefully, it won’t be like Sonic Unleashed and will be a true successor in the same vein as the original Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic Adventure.
After Hidden Path Entertainment released their perennial tower defense title, Defense Grid: The Awakening for Xbox Live Arcade and playing it previously on Steam, I was anxious and more than a bit intrigued to see how the quality would translate on to the Xbox 360.
In regards to story, Defense Grid feels like your typical science fiction novella. The game begins as you are assumed to have stumbled upon ancient ruins of a civilization manned only by a millennia old Artificial Intelligence. Immediately notifying you that aliens are coming to steal power cores that run the planetary defenses, the AI conscripts you to stop them. While progressing through the campaign, the story does deepen slightly, but never to the point where it truly stands out. However, the impeccable voice acting of the Artificial Intelligence coupled with several other factors set DG: TA miles apart from other tower defense games.
When starting the first level, the player is equipped with a small amount of diversity in regards to towers for repulsing the invading aliens and protecting the power cores. However, if the player proves unable to protect the cores, the grid shuts down, and you are able to restart the level or simply go back to your last checkpoint. Simple gun and inferno towers will eventually give way to far more advanced towers as you strive to repel up to fifteen different types of aliens. When you destroy an alien, you will receive resources which will allow you to build additional towers. A new tower becomes available roughly every one or two levels eventually allowing the player to build ten tower types total. Additionally, each tower is capable of becoming more powerful by being upgraded, which can be done twice. Furthermore, various towers have different strengths and weaknesses in regards to the different types of aliens, calling for quick, creative solutions on the part of the player.
For the most part, the controls feel as good as a in my hands, if not better than a mouse on PC. Fast and concise, it seems like Hidden Path thought of everything about controlling the game when bringing it to XBLA. Mapping the ‘select’ command to the A button makes it feel smoother than the left-click ever did along with the ability to speed up time convenient linked to the right bumper. Also, the right stick allows the player to move the cursor, while the left stick enables the player to quickly pan the map. Conversely, the back button conveniently allows players to go back as the game regularly saves checkpoints throughout each level in the event a tower is misplaced or not upgraded when it probably should have been. Despite relatively simple controls that give way perfectly to engrossingly addictive gameplay, Defense Grid doesn’t even come close to ending when the campaign credits roll.
Upon completing each level, you are allowed to go back for a multitude of new challenges. Grinder, which is only available on certain levels, allows the player to see how long they can survive against a seemingly endless horde of aliens. Up to 99 waves will continue to try and steal your power cores. Ever challenging, players can also try a more beefed up version of the story mode level in which the aliens will be stronger than their campaign counterparts. But for those who simply want to go for gold medals, practice mode will allow you to do just that until you think you finally have it nailed down to perfect. Conversely, there are more unusual modes. There is a mode only allowing for level 1 towers to be built as well as a type that sets a limit on how many towers the player is allowed to construct. Last but not least, there are leaderboard capabilities so you can see how well you stand up to the rest on Xbox Live.
I confess that prior to playing Defense Grid via Steam, I wasn’t even aware of the tower defense genre. The title has proved to be a black hole for my spare time as I’ve caught myself going back to it continuously since completing it. Thus, I can only pay complements as to the replay value of DG: TA. Sickeningly smooth controls make the title an exceedingly enjoyable experience while being enough of a challenge that I was left feeling satisfied after overcoming each level. Curiously, the game is still going for $20 on Steam when you can pick it up on XBLA for a paltry 800 Microsoft points or $10 dollars. Therefore, while the Steam version made me fall in love with tower defense, Defense Grid: The Awakening has filled a void on Xbox Live Arcade and it’ll be awfully difficult for any other title to squeeze in.
Some gamers may be too young to remember when the Sega Dreamcast came to the United States on September 9th, 1999 while for others, it is a haunting reminder of what could have been. Growing up, I chose Sega over Nintendo when it came to the 16-bit generation and. The Nintendo 64 caught my attention just in time for me to go running to Sega when the Dreamcast hit North America. I had to have one based on the factor of sheer potential that the hardware possessed. Now ten years later I still look on in pride at not one, but two Dreamcasts I have nestled in my collection. So to the Dreamcast, I wish a warmhearted happy 10th birthday. Here’s hoping for many, many more.
Anyone who grew up in the eighties will remember the Commodore 64, now you can relive that pleasant slice of nostalgia on the Apple iPhone. Manomio has created a spot on emulator and while it doesn’t have the programming function or the inclusion of BASIC, rest assured that they know what people want. Quoting from Manomio’s site, “Despite it’s absence, BASIC is not our focus, ultimately fans of the C64 want games. To that end, we’re working on lots of additional titles that will be available as a separate free or paid download. These game packs will have an option to activate in the C64, and become visible on your ‘game shelf’.”
Releasing 5 games packaged with the Commodore 64 application, the hope is to get more games added in the future along with reactivating the BASIC functionality. In the meantime, Manomio is taking requests via email and Twitter. Anyone interested in downloading the app should check it out here.
Update: According to Kotaku via PocketGamer, The App Store has pulled the Commodore 64 application due to a BASIC glitch that allows users to access the function.
Debuting last night on Spike TV, this is the extended version of the live action Halo 3: ODST trailer. Opening at the funeral of a fallen ODST, this effectively thrusts the idea on the viewer that Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are far more vulnerable to being killed in action as opposed to Master Chief. Thus, it is exceptional that Bungie has chosen to expand the game library of the Halo mythos by tapping into ODST Marines. Overall a great trailer that only makes me further wonder why efforts at a Halo feature film have been stalled.
For those Trekkies who enjoy a good MMO every now and then can start rejoicing at warp speed as Cryptic has opened up registration to the Star Trek Online closed beta. From Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer on Star Trek Online via Kotaku:
Closed beta registration is an important step in bringing Star Trek Online to the public. We are looking toward the launch of our first-of-a-kind MMORPG with anticipation and excitement and we expect Star Trek Online to explode onto the scene, giving fans and gamers a Star Trek experience like no other.
If you’re like me and just can’t wait to “boldly go where no one has gone before” from the comfort of your computer chair, the registration page is available here.
Since Beatles: Rock Band is releasing September 9th, it was interesting to hear that the original Rock Band was actually the result of several design failings that Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, the duo who founded Harmonix, would eventually overcome. In an interview with CNN via Slashdot, the pair discusses what ‘horrendous failures’ were apparent during the design process that would lead them to commercial success with Rock Band.
To quote Rigopulos, “I was watching people interact with our product, and the realization came crashing down on me — we had spent 18 months on a music system that was fundamentally flawed. Karaoke isn’t about personal expression. It’s about people reproducing the songs they know as accurately as they can. The whole notion of adding improvisation elements just wasn’t connecting. So I retreated to my hotel room and was depressed for the next two days. The company was on the rocks. We had zero revenue. We had been trying for four years to make something work. We were out of ideas. Those first four years had been a graveyard of misstarts and product concepts that never made it anywhere.”
Today, Harmonix has become a relative household name for many gamers, casual or otherwise, who have given up nights of sleep in order to play. However it’s almost scary to think of a world where Frequency, Guitar Hero or Rock Band never came into being. Can you imagine a world where we don’t have collectives of plastic instruments?
A new study set to be released later this week illustrates just how strong Tetris can make your brain. Wired reports that the study authored by the Mind Research Network and funded by none other than the creators of the game shows two distinct effects on the human brain. First, there was an overall increase in the efficiency of the brain. Additionally, there was an increase in grey matter, which is an indicator of increased thickness to the cortexes. Doctors attached to the study believe this shows that a, “challenging visuospatial task” such as those found in video games can actually alter the structure of the brain.
While benefits of the lasting effects are possible when applied to other tasks, playing games may serve to stave off the decline in mental abilities that traditionally come with age. Funny, I was always told I was wasting time with video games.
Some time ago, xbox360achievements announced that Activision would enable several tracks to be imported from Guitar Hero World Tour to Guitar Hero 5. The funny thing about the word “several” is that it can mean quite a few different things in the corporate sector of the video game industry. In this case, it is less than half the catalog of the songs in Guitar Hero World Tour. While you can import the 35 songs for a paltry 280 Microsoft points ($3.50), it’s still pretty clever that Activision neglected to mention this prior to the release of Guitar Hero 5 on September 1.
The 35 songs that can be imported after the jump via Destructoid.
“About a Girl (Unplugged)” – Nirvana “Are You Gonna Go My Way” – Lenny Kravitz “Band on the Run” – “Wings “Dammit” – Blink 182 “Demolition Man (Live)” – Sting “Do it Again” – Steely Dan “Everlong” – Foo Fighters “Heartbreaker” – Pat Benatar” “Hollywood Nights” – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band “The Joker” – The Steve Miller Band “The Kill” – 30 Seconds from Mars “L’Via L’Viaquez” – The Mars Volta “Lazy Eye” – Silversun Pickups “Livin’ on a Prayer” – Bon Jovi “Love Spreads” – The Stone Roses “The Middle” – Jimmy Eat World “Never Too Late” – The Answer “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” – Beastie Boys “Obstacle 1″ – Interpol “One Armed Scissor” – At the Drive In “One Way or Another” – Blondie “Our Truth” – Lacuna Coil “Overkill” – Motorhead “Re-Education Through Labor” – Rise Against “Santeria” – Sublime “Shiver” – Coldplay “Soul Doubt” – NOFX “Spiderwebs” – No Doubt “Still Born” – Black Label Society “Stranglehold” – Ted Nugent “Sweet Home Alabama (Live)” – Lynyrd Skynyrd “Today” – Smashing Pumpkins “Toy Boy” – Suck Up in the Sound “Up Around The Bend” – Creedence Clearwater Revival “You’re Gonna Say Yeah!” – Hushpuppies
The funny thing is, Activision is yet to conclusively state if the licenses are definitive or not. They should be updating the list as soon as possible once everything is hammered out. In the meantime however, gamers are left to wonder whether or not Activision will charge for any additional licenses as well as why this wasn’t mentioned sooner.
As if the original Wii Fit didn’t call the weight of enough gamers into question enough, I’m pleased to announce that Nintendo will be releasing a new iteration this October. Bringing an enhanced version of Wii Fit to retail allows for a fair amount of latitude in the form of new features as well as new exercises, yoga activities and balance games to keep things as fun as possible. Additionally, players can now customize their workouts to focus on specific parts of the body or fill a specified amount of time. Wii Fit Plus is slated to replace the current Wii Fit October 4, 2009 and will come packaged with the Wii Balance Board for $99.99. Of course, for anyone who already owns, knows and loves Wii Fit, they can just pick up the new Wii Fit Plus disc for $19.99, which is compatible with the current Wii Balance Board.
Infinity Ward has released a new video for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This time the focus is on “uncut gameplay” illustrating new features to multiplayer. Capture the flag is focused on in particular and while the gameplay is still fast and extremely hectic, it appears to remain as much fun as the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Apparently pitched into the multiplayer equation is the bulletproof riot shield, while seamless host migration allows for the game to continue should the current host decide to drop out or is disconnected. Finally, throwing knives seal the deal as a new means of multiplayer mayhem on top of the already diverse means of mayhem. Players, get ready to kill each other when Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is released November 10, 2009.
The guys over at Rooster Teeth have put together a new Red vs. Blue video which attempts to encapsulate the “more average” abilities of ODST Marines. As always, top quality from one of the top names in machinima points out the obvious advantage of a new Halo game on the horizon. I’m beside myself with joy that for a brief period of time everyone will be starting at the same side of the learning curve, but it surely won’t last long.
September 22nd really cannot get here fast enough. If only I had a time machine.
