E3

E3 is in full swing this week.  I haven't been able to follow much of the action yet.  A few notes though:

 

- Modern Warfare 2 looks sweet!!  I have total faith in Infinity Ward

 

- The Beatles Rock Band game trailer was phenomenal.  Simply phenomenal.  It might be one of the coolest trailers I have seen for a game.  The trailer's art style and polish was simply breathtaking.  Granted, it did not show the actual game itself, and that usually goes against everything I believe in with game trailers, but lets be honest, we don't need to see gameplay video of another music rhythm game.  Nothing exciting about those.

 

- I read a bit about this "Project Natal".  Sound impressive from a technical standpoint, I just can't imagine it being too engaging in the long run, nor see its immediate game applications.  We'll see how this goes.

 

- Haven't seen any of the Halo: ODST footage.  Interested to see if it looks/plays differently than the regular Halo games.  Seems a new Halo project was announced for next year also.  Halo: Reach?  A prequel covering the the Fall of Reach?  Could be very interesting.  Halo has always been a great co-op game, but with a Fall of Reach title they could really add co-op to the storyline, since there will be more than one Spartan around at that time.

 

- Saw some quick footage of Epic's upcoming 2D arcade game.  The visuals looks amazing for an Arcade title.

 

- Alan Wake is back and it looks like Alone in the Dark and Silent Hill.  Why has this game been delayed so much?

 

- It was leaked before E3, but I'm psyched for The Secret of Monkey Island's upcoming Arcade release.  I've never played the Monkey Island games but I always wanted to.

 

- Guitar Hero 5.  Meh.

 

- Just caught a glimpse of the Nintendo conference.  Mario Galaxy 2 was announced.  The big news?  Team Ninja working on a 3rd-Person Metroid action game?!  WTF?!  Seriously?  Pretty damn sweet!

 

- Nothing too surprising out of the Sony Press conference.  Seems like everyone is getting into the whole motion-control thing.  I hope it is used properly to change the way we experience games and not just as a gimmick to cash in on the Wii's success.

 

I've only been able to skim the E3 info so far.  I have seen very few videos myself.  Hope to give further thoughts after I digest everything later this week.

 

The Simpson's Game

I was at Best Buy on Friday and saw The Simpson's Game for $9.99 (360).  Seemed like a crime not to pick it up, considering I'm a Simpson's freak.

Managed to play it for about 2 hours earlier today and it is not bad.  How much fun you get out of the game is greatly determined by how big a fan you are of the show.  Me, being a huge fan, am having a great time.  I haven't laughed this much playing a game since Portal.  The writing is on par with the great writing the show is known for.

Being able to explore Springfield and all of its landmark locations (Moe's Tavern, Krusty Burger, Springfield Elementary, Android's Dungeon, etc.) and even the Simpson home, is a fanboy's dream come true.  Everything screams authenticity, even though the layout of the actual town is shrunken down for obvious reasons.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration, standard platforming, simple puzzles and combat. Each Simpson member has their own move-set and special powers.  Nothing revolutionary, but it does keep things fresh.

The hilarious one liners from characters kept me in stitches and all the easter eggs thrown throughout the game world were great to see.  I enjoyed my play session, although there were several sections of extreme frustration coming from the game's controls and camera.  Sometimes making simple jumps or reaching certain locations is alot harder than it needs to be, because the camera refuses to cooperate.  This does put a damper on the fun factor.

All in all, for $10, it looks like a great investment.  Given that I haven't seen new episodes of the show in years (yes, as big a fan as I am, I never see the show on Sundays, just the reruns) I am enjoying getting my Simpson's fix through other means.

2008 Game of the Year Awards

Ok, last year's Games of the Year Awards post was kinda long, so I am hoping to streamline it this year and be less wordy.  At least I will try.

 

Like before, my overall Game of the Year is not eligible for the individual system GotY award, to share the wealth a bit.  Also, keep in mind that I can obviously only choose from games that I played last year, so don't hate me if your favorite game didn't make it, I probably just didn't play it.  I also only did gaming on the 360 and PS3 this year, so no PS2 or PSP titles, unlike last year.  Ok, I'm already getting wordy.  On to the big award first!

 

2008 Game of the Year

 

Dead Space

 

There was no other game that I played in 2008 that wowed me as much as Dead Space.  Plain and simple.  Visually, it is the most impressive title I have seen to date.  Atmospherically, I was drawn in from opening sequence to closing credits.  Everytime I picked up the controller to play this game, I had a great time and an ear to ear smile (when I wasn't terrified that is).

 

Runners-up:

 

Gears of War 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, Fallout 3

 

360 Game of the Year

 

Gears of War 2

 

As I mentioned in my impressions post (HERE), I really did not enjoy GoW 2 the first time I played it.  The second time however, was some of the most fun I've had this year.  It was a long session too (played for about 6 hours straight) and I was enthralled the entire time.  I'm surprised that this ended up being my 360 GotY, but I couldn't think of another title I enjoyed more (aside from Dead Space of course).

 

Runners-up:

 

GTA IV, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2

 

PS3 Game of the Year

 

Metal Gear Solid 4

 

This game was an experience.  Visually, its the pinacle on the PS3 at the moment (at least until Killzone is released).  Gameplay-wise, the Metal Gear series has never been better.  Its refined controls and new default camera angle finally take the series to next level in the playability department.  It answers all the questions you might have had in the series too.  At least, I think it does.  This series' story-line is so intertwined and incoherent at this point, it is hard to tell.  As expected, the game delivers the best directed cinimatics in the business.  Kojima always excelled in this department and each MG game has taken it to another level.  That being said, as I mentioned in my impressions of the game, it is overdone.  This is both a game and a movie.  You spend at least ½ your time just sitting back and watching.  Really, you can go over ½ an hour without having to tough your controller.  That is a bit much and the game's only major negative.  With a gameplay to cinematics ratio of 70/30, this might have been a contender for 2009 GotY.  But since it seems to be more in the 50/50 range, the overall experience really suffers.

 

Runners-up:

 

Little Big Planet, MLB 08: The Show

 

Xbox Live Arcade GotY:

 

Braid

 

Braid was just unique.  And fun.  And satisfying.  And special.  Its puzzles fiendishly clever.  Its art direction beautifully surreal.  It might not be for everybody, but it was definitely up my alley.

 

Runner's up:

 

Bionic Commando, Castle Crashers

 

Sports Game of the Year:

 

MLB: The Show 2008

 

For the second year in a row, The Show gets my vote.  A huge visual leap from last year, The Show just looks and plays like baseball.  No other sports game does a better job of translating a sport's nuances, sounds, look and feel like The Show series.

 

Runners-up:

 

Hot Shots: Out of Bounds

 

Multiplayer Game of the Year:

 

Left 4 Dead

 

Considering this game should only be played co-op, it better be a great experience.  And it is! 

 

Runner's up:

 

Rock Band 2, Castle Crashers

 

Best Graphics:

 

Dead Space

 

In my opinion, no other game looked better.  Sure, others might have had larger scale, and done certain things better, but no other game impressed me visually as much as Dead Space.  Gears of War came close, and Metal Gear was technically fantastic, but Dead Space had me at "hello" this year.

 

Runners-up:

 

GoW 2, MGS4, Far Cry 2

 

Best Sound:

 

Battlefield: Bad Company

 

Dead Space basically had this category locked up, but I made a really late purchase of Bad Company and I was blown away by the sound design.  No other FPS has done a better job with gunfire and explosions.  Everything sounds different depending on distance and even environment (everything sounds different indoors).  For a game that relies so much on destruction, BC's sound design made that destruction sound absolutely delightful.

 

Runner's-up:

Dead Space, GoW 2

 

Best Gaming Moment of 2008:

 

(Possible spoiler ahead!)

 

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Returning to Shadow Moses Island (MGS4)

 

Wow!  Talk about fan service.  Kojima and his team pulled this bit of nostalgia off to perfection.  The whole scenario was set up beautifully too.  Heavy snow storm clouds your vision and just as that familiar helipad and base come into view, the theme from the ending credits of MGS1 kicks in.  I was floored.  Definitely one of my favorite gaming moments, not just from 2008, but of all time.

 

Runner's-up:

 

Zero Gravity (Dead Space)

 

The airtight doors open and I feel all the air getting sucked out of the compression chamber.  Ahead of me I see that the hull of the ship has been completely breached, the beauty of open space lies beyond.  All sound is muted and distant, although I clearly hear my breaths as I consume my now limited air supply.  Everything has a hazy look to it.  Up ahead I see a pipe has ruptured and see the beads of water floating away.  It is a surreal, peaceful experience, almost making me forget about the horrors I have already seen, and the ones that await me.

 

Leaving Vault 101 (Fallout 3)

 

Similar to exiting the sewers in Oblivion, finally escaping the confines of Vault 101 and stepping out to the Wasteland was exhilarating.  The vast, post-apocalyptic landscape is hautingly beautiful and the sense of freedom I felt to to go anywhere and do as I wanted was even more apparent than in Oblivion.

 

Biggest Disapointment of 2008:

 

(Tie) Ninja Gaiden 2 / Brother's in Arms: Hell's Highway

 

Anyone who has read this blog for a while (which is nobody) knows that Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox is one of my favorite action titles ever.  Played through it (in its many incarnations) MANY times.  But Ninja Gaiden 2 just never did it for me.  It didn't seem to evolve enough.  Its gameplay felt stagnant.  Complacent.  Sections felt extremely cheap.  I still need to beat it, yet, I find the urge to go back to it gone.  Shame.

 

As far as BiA, going into this new generation of gaming, this game was actually in my top 3 of anticipated titles.  Ever since the 360 was released, I was looking forward to this one.  What a disapointment.  A lot of what the developers showed, as far as walkthroughs and demos, turned out to be bogus and the final game was not what I was expecting.  Technically, it suffered, despite what seemed like ages of develoment time.  And the gameplay felt right out of last generation.  A big disappointment.

 

Runner's-up:

 

Additional Portal levels only part of full game re-release, Madden 2009 (like always)

 

Biggest Surprise of 2008:

 

Dead Space

 

Who would have thought that a game I was not interested in until a week before its release would end up being my favorite game of 2008?

 

- - - - -

 

Alright, that's it.  I am tired of typing.  Another year, another batch of great titltes.  here's hoping 2009 is another great one.

RRoD 2

So I get up on Sunday morning with plans on playing some CoD4.  I have been getting back into the swing of things and had some pretty good matches over the last few days.

Hit the power button on my 360, hear an ugly, high pitched sound, like the optical drive doing something it shouldn't, and BAM, Three Rings of Death.

Oh boy.

I try the usual trouble shooting techniques, unplug everything, remove the HDD, but nothing works.

Perfect.  So, I'm sending it back to Microsoft.  Second time this happens to me.  I know others have had it much worse, but dammit, this is so annoying.  20+ years of gaming and I have NEVER had a console break on me.  My Atari 2600 still works.

Oh well . . .

Fallout 3 impressions . . .

I decided to go ahead and start Fallout 3, even though I told myself that I wouldn't start until I was done with Prince of Persia. I just couldn't resist.

I can tell this is an RPG because I spent about 9 hours playing it on Sunday. 6 of those hours being non-stop. This always happens to me with RPGs. I get sucked into leveling my character, exploring, scavenging for items, and the next thing you know, hours have gone by. Seriously, last night I sat down to play at 8pm and just like that, it was 9:30pm. I felt like I had only played for 20 minutes.

The game itself is a lot of fun. The Wasteland looks great. The atmosphere is there, especially when stepping out of Vault 101 for the first time. The gameplay is very similar to Oblivion. There are obvious differences and improvements to the core gameplay, but there is no mistaking that this is a Bethesda game and it is running on the Oblivion engine. That might be my biggest problem with the game so far. It just feels too similar to Oblivion and it is not as new or fresh as I would like. If you never played Oblivion, this won't be a negative to you, but since I put in over 100 hours in that game (still need to beat it too!), this feels like a very similar experience.

I am also not the biggest fan of the Oblivion engine from a visual standpoint. Sure, it is managing a giant open world, keeping track of millions of objects and doing lots of computations, it has day and night cycles, complex A.I., realtime physics, great draw distance, and some vistas are gorgeous, but the final package just doesn't come together to "wow" me most of the time. Character animation is robotic, textures look iffy up close, and aside from the open Wasteland, indoor environments look pretty dull and boring. It is not an ugly game. Some might actually find it gorgeous. But for my taste, this engine doesn't really do it for me.

But graphics aren't everything, especially in an RPG. The story so far has been more intriguing to me than Oblivion. Maybe it is just more accessible than gateways to Hell opening up. You are simply searching for your father. The voice acting is much improved over Oblivion. Where it seemed that Oblivion had 5 voice actors in the entire game, Fallout 3 seems to have hundreds. You won't find every other character to sound the same.

Bottom line though, regardless if I complain that I don't like the engine, that there are no "wow" moments, that it feels too familiar, once I start playing I cannot stop and that is the greatest compliment a game can have.

Prince of Persia impressions . . .

I played the game for just over three hours last night.  I was having a good time, but for some reason I got the feeling I have already experienced all the game has to offer.  I hope I am wrong.  Some impressions:

 

- I don't like the Prince.  I don't like his character.  He's a bit too cocky.  Seems out of place.  Why can't we just have a regular, believable character for the lead?

 

- Graphically, the game is pretty, but I am not as impressed as I thought I would be.  The Prince's animations are great, the colors vibrant and the cell shaded graphics look very nice, but overall, I have not been floored by the visuals.

 

- It appears that the entire game consists of entering a corrupted area, working your way up a predetermined path, fight a mini-boss (sometimes more than once throughout the level) then reach the highest point where you "cure" the level, then traverse it again collecting light orbs.  Rinse, repeat.

 

- My biggest problem with the game is that while traversing the levels can be entertaining and it certainly looks amazing with all the crazy acrobatic moves you are pulling off, ultimately, it does not feel like you are really pulling everything off yourself.  Once you start stringing moves together, even though your character is doing a lot of pretty amazing stuff, all you are doing is occasionally pressing a button, you don't even have to really press a direction on the analog stick.  So the sense of accomplishment is not really as great as it should be, since it at times feel more like a quick-time event or interactive cinematic than you actually pulling off these moves.

 

- Combat is also very cinematic, requiring timed button presses resulting is elaborate moves.  Combat is also different from previous PoP games.  You only encounter an enemy (read: only one at a time) at pre-determined spots.  This is the only time the Prince uses his sword, as the attack button does not work during the platforming sections.

 

- You cannot die in the game.  This is both good and bad.  It is good because it greatly cuts down on frustration and loading screens.  If you miss a jump, your partner chick (sorry, in 3 hours of playing I didn't pick up her name.  Something with an "E".  Elika?  Elina?) uses her powers to grab your hand and lift you back up.  If you get swallowed by the black ooze surrounding the levels, again, she reaches in and rescues you.  Same with combat.  Sure, it makes the game a lot easier than it should be, but I think I'll take the lack of frustration over the lack difficulty.

 

I enjoyed my time with the game last night, but the Prince of Persia series has lost a lot of its magic since the first PS2 release.  They have tried to tinker with the formula too much, changing the Prince for the worse, getting a bit too elaborate with the storylines, too fantastical with the environments.  I hope the next PoP game goes back to basics.  Set it in the real world.  With nice but believable landscapes.  Have a believable Prince as a lead.  Someone a bit more down to earth.  Add some flaws in his execution of moves too.  He doesn't have to be super human.  Make him believable, like Nathan Drake in Uncharted.

 

Again, this is all based on 3 hours of playtime.  Will update accordingly as I advance through the game.

 

Gears of War 2 impressions

Last Thursday, just before the GoW 2 launch, I decided to pop in the original to re-familiarize myself with the controls and play style.  I haven't used RB to reload since Halo 3 after all.

 

A weird thing happened.  I found the game dreadfully boring and I stopped playing after 10 minutes.  I shrugged it off.  I have played through the game multiple times after all.  All games get old after a while.

 

What I wasn't expecting was to have that same feeling while firing up the sequel.  But I did.  As soon as I stared playing my solo campaign, I was underwhelmed.  Graphically, I didn't find the game very impressive.  It looked about the same as the previous title.  And while the original was a fine looking game, we've had Bioshock, CoD4, Far Cry 2 and Dead Space since then.  All of which I consider better looking games (your opinion may vary).  The opening hospital level just seemed bland.  Gameplay-wise, it seemed stale.  I was very disappointed.

 

I turned the game off and called it a day.

 

The next day something happened.  I sat down to play, expecting more of the same, and four hours later I found myself completely mesmerized.  I am not sure what happened.  I don't know if the levels got a lot better.  If the new gameplay elements became more apparent.  Or if I just got used to the GoW play-style again, but as I advanced through the campaign I was floored by how much I was enjoying it.  My initial impressions of the visuals being more of the same also went away.  Some of the later levels have simply amazing vistas.  It is funny, I am usually more impressed with vast, open, natural environments like forests, or sections with lots of greenery.  But the most impressive visuals for the Gears series I have found to be the sections that take place underground.  In the original Gears, the single most impressive area for me was the giant cavern in which you meet the Theron Guards for the first time.  That section, with its huge scale and Immulsion waterways was simply breathtaking.  There are many sections in Gears 2 that take that to another level.  The scale of this second game has certainly gone way up, in all aspects: story, stakes, environments, battles. 

 

Another technical aspect that has impressed me is the audio.  I am playing with my headphones once again (my new favorite way to game) and there were two instances that really blew we away from an audio standpoint.  The first is a really small detail, but as you know, it is the small details that impress me the most.  While playing the single-player campaign, my teammate Dom was speaking to me.  He sounded normal, since he was standing next to me.  But he continued to advance down a path while I stayed behind to search for ammo or hidden items.  As he got further away, I heard his voice change from normal, to having a slight static hint as it transitioned from earshot to Marcus' earpiece.  I found that a pretty amazing detail.  I am not sure if the first game did this since I never played it with headphones and it is harder to pick up those small details with speakers, but I was very impressed.

 

The second was even cooler.  One of the levels take place in the rain (the rain effect looks amazing btw).  The sound of the rain also sound good.  But I was really blown away as I walked out of the rain, under some cover composed of a small tin roof.  It smoothly transitioned to the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof and the effect was spectacular.  I am not sure how it comes across with speakers, but I can tell you that with headphones it really put me in the game.  It sounded amazing.  Almost like a binaural recording.  That's how effective it was.  I had a huge smile on my face and spent the next few minutes moving in and out of the rain.  I know, I am an idiot.

 

But, the biggest improvement between Gears 1 and 2 is the story.  And not just the story, but the story telling.  I've commented before on how I felt Epic really dropped the ball in the first game.  The background story for the game was great.  It was really thought out and detailed.  Yet for some reason Epic decided to leave all of it out of the game.  If players had not read up on the story from online sources, all they would have to go by was a small blurb in the instruction manual.  And the actual narrative for the title was weak and was conveyed poorly to the player.  That completely changes with the sequel.  It helps that we have the first game to set this one up, but the story of this game is a lot more compelling.  I find myself wanting to advance to the next section just to find out what is going to happen next, instead of just anticipating my next firefight (which is all players really had to look forward to in the first game).  There is some emotion in it this time too.  The story arch of Dom and his wife actually worked for me and the way it concludes was very powerful.  I still need a whole Act to finish the game and I can assure you, I am completely intrigued by what is going on, what has been revealed, and all the twists that have been thrown at me.  Impressive stuff.

 

All this and I have yet to try out the multiplayer.  I am especially looking forward to Horde mode, which I hear is a total blast.  So in closing, after a shaky start, I am having a blast with GoW2.  If you're a fan of the previous one, this is a no brainer.  And if you weren't, because it felt shallow with poor story telling, you might want to try this one and see if it works for you.  Just stick it out through the first few segments, it definitely picks up after that.

 

P.S. - I actually miss the Berserkers and Kryll.  Wish they would have brought them both back at some capacity.

 

Michael Crichton R.I.P

I just found out that Michael Crichton passes away yesterday.  That is just terrible news.

 

I became a huge fan of Michael, along with millions of others, with his novel Jurassic Park.  I remember reading that novel my sophomore year of high school and falling in love.  I've gone on to read it five times since then.  Each time I have been captivated by it.  Being a huge dinosaur fan as a kid, Jurassic Park was a truly exhilarating read.  Those who read my post on Stan Winston know of the obsession I had with Jurassic Park (the movie), but it all began with the novel.

 

After Jurassic Park, Michael became my favorite author and I went on a marathon reading session of his novels.  Rising Sun, Sphere, Congo, Terminal Man, Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, A Case of Need, Eaters of the Dead, The Lost World, and most recently, Prey.  Being that I have always been interested in science and technology, Michael Crichton's novels were right up my alley.  He would go into so much technical detail, either on the technology or medicine behind his novels, that as a reader you conclude that everything he is writing about is completely plausible.  A dinosaur theme park?  The way Michael presented it, sure why not.  I still expect this to become a reality in the next 20 years.  :)

 

My mandatory Michael Crichton reading is: Jurassic Park, Sphere, Rising Sun, and The Andromeda Strain.  I have read all of those multiple times and I am sure I will read them all again in the future.

 

I am deeply saddened to learn of his passing.  I still have several of his novels that I have yet to read, so I still have plenty of MC in my future.  He was a brilliant person and one who will be missed.

 

Far Cry 2 impressions

I have been a console gamer my entire gaming life.  I didn't own a PC until I was already knee deep in console games, so I never got into the entire PC gaming scene.  My experience with the Far Cry franchise was on the Xbox with Far Cry: Instincts.  A game which differed greatly in playstyle from the PC version that inspired it.  I am a big FPS fan, but it has all been in the console realm.  I am used to going down a pre-determined path, having clear objectives, and having a linear narrative to work with.

 

That is why it was pretty intimidating when I completed the "tutorial" section of Far Cry 2 and I was set free on my own.  I didn't have an immediate mission or objective.  I had 50 kilometers of African savannah, jungle, and swamp land waiting to be explored and no invisible walls or artificial obstructions ushering me down a path.  I've played open-world games before, but never from a first-person perspective, with first-person combat.  Bringing up my map I could see various points of interests where I could acquire missions, similar to GTA, but it felt foreign (and liberating) in a FPS setting.

 

One thing I immediately liked about the game is that everything happens from your character's perspective.  I'm a big fan of this technique, since I feel it is a much more immersing experience.  There are no "cinematics", you experience all story elements from your character's point of view.  When hopping into one of the many vehicles, again, no 3rd person view kicks in.  Even viewing your map keeps you in your character's perspective, since you bring up a paper map with your left hand and can continue to move around while viewing it.  Sure, this is a "magical map" which you can zoom in and out of and displays icons and points of interest, but it works for me.

 

Another thing I noticed immediately was the impressive technology running everything.  I followed the game's development close enough to have seen all the demos for this game engine and the final product doesn't fail to impress.  You have a huge open word, day and night cycles, solid physics, a dynamic weather system, destructible foliage, great draw distance and a solid frame-rate.  Morning and dusk are particularly beautiful and walking through a dense jungle with sunlight trickling in through the trees above is a sight to see.  Weapon models are very detailed and reload animations are great.  If you are using old, war-torn weapons (the kind you pick up from the enemies) you can see their visible wear-and-tear, as they are often rusty and gritty.  They are also prone to jamming, resulting in great animations of your character trying to un-jam them.  Fire acts like fire and throwing a Molotov cocktail at some bushes is a sure way to start a blaze that can get out of control and char a pretty large area.  All these elements come together to create a realistic, immersing, and totally satisfying experience.

 

So far I have spent my time tracking down some diamonds (the game's currency which you use to buy new weapons) and unlocking safe houses (unlocking means killing the enemies that guard it).  Once unlocked you can use that house as a HUB to save your game or sleep (which you can use to advance time to a different time of day).  I've only done a handful of actual missions.

 

Given the large game world, getting from point to point will require a lot of driving.  Vehicles are essential, unless you use the bus system, which teleports you to pre-determined stations across the map.    I actually don't mind driving.  I enjoy it and it makes the game world seem even more realistic.  However, it does introduce my only complaint with the game so far.  Stationed at most intersections are guard checkpoints.  Usually manned by 3 guards.  These guys will engage you on sight.  These battles can vary in difficulty depending on the size of the checkpoint, but on average you can be done with them in a minute or so, and they typically shouldn't be a problem . . . but there is an inherent flaw with them.  After you clear one of these guard posts, if you drive a bit further down the road and decide that you need to make a u-turn and come back, the guard post will be fully manned again, even though you just killed everyone one minute before.  This is not only very unrealistic, but after a while it makes driving around a bit of a chore, since all guard checkpoints will always be manned, no matter how many times you've cleared them, and they are frequent enough to realy make getting around more of a chore than it should be.  I am sure the developers put all these guard posts in the game so that the player does not get bored driving around, but in all seriousness, they are more annoying than fun after you have to battle through the same checkpoint for the 5th time.  I really think they should have had the guard posts stay empty for at least a day until new guards show up.  I mean, the game has day and night cycles already, it would not have been very difficult to program this in.

 

That complaint aside, I am really enjoying the game.  It really is a fresh experience, a first-person open world game.  I just hope I can get all the way through it without stopping in frustration because of the previously mentioned travel problems.

 

Resistance 2 Beta

I've played a couple of Co-op matches of Resistance 2 and I have mixed feelings.

 

My biggest problem is that it seems that in order to keep the game challenging, the enemies take quite the beating before they die.  They also seem to have severely weakened the offensive abilities of the non-soldier classes (Special-ops and Medic).  For example, in my first co-op game I played as a Special-Ops.  My role was basically to supply ammo to my teammates when they ran low.  It works to your advantage to supply them with ammo, since the only way for the Special-Ops class to get ammo themselves is by supplying others with it.

 

This particular match only had 4 players.  Myself and three others (a medic and two soldiers -I don't remember if they are called "soldiers" or something else).  We were working well as a team.  I was constantly giving ammo, our medic was constantly healing, and the two soldiers were doing the bulk of the killing.  I quickly realized that in order to succeed in this mode you really have to play as your particular class.  As a Special-ops character, my default weapon was a sort of sniper-rifle, except it seemed to be shooting bb's, because it would take several headshots to take down the "grunt" of the alien army.  And by several I mean more than 5.  Clearly, my role was to support the team by supplying ammo, reviving the occasional teammate when the medic was busy, and distracting the enemies so that the soldier class could kill them.  Seriously, my weapons felt pathetically under-powered.

 

Once I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to be racking up too many kills, I began to have a good time.  I felt useless at times from an offensive standpoint, but I was enjoying myself.  Our team was playing very well together, even though none of us had head-sets to communicate with.  Everyone knew their role.  It was frustrating when fighting the larger enemy types which literally took about 5 minutes of constantly bombarding with everything we had to take down, but it was fun.

 

We weren't able to finish the level - after fighting tough for about ½ an hour - because the number of enemies (and the amount of damage they take to go down) was just too much.  When the match was over I realized that it was fun and all, but it felt a bit cheap.  These enemies should not be so difficult to take down.  Make them smarter, increase their number, but having a regular enemy take 6 or 7 headshots is ridiculous.

 

I then jumped into another game of 8 player op-op.  I chose a soldier this time (I wanted to get some kills!) and I stopped playing after 15 minutes.  Nobody was playing the game properly.  I was constantly low on ammo or health and all the medics or special-ops were doing their best Rambo impersonations.  At one point I was on the ground, needing to be revived and I had 2 medics about 5 feet away just shooting at the enemies, completely ignoring me.  Another time I was out of ammo and standing in front of a Special-op character and he just ran by me to continue the fight.

 

Oh, and the previously mentioned "hard to kill" enemies only get worse the more players you have.  We fought this one big enemy which had all 8 of us just raining bullets on him for about 10 minutes, non-stop, and he wouldn't flinch.  It was pretty ridiculous.  And I'm not talking about some giant, building-tall creature like was shown at E3, I'm talking about an above-average brute of 15 feet.  10 minutes on CONSTANT fire from 8 different people.  Again, that just comes off as really cheap.

 

I left the match pretty frustrated.  Frustrated at my stupid teammates who did not know what their roles were, and at the cheap design of the co-op experience.

 

I have yet to try regular death-match, but when I have Dead Space sitting in my 360, Resistance 2 is not really on my mind right now.  I wasn't as immediately impressed with it as I was the first time I played the CoD4 Beta.  I might be taking a wait-and-see approach to this one.

 

Dead Space Impressions

It happened very quickly.  I went from not really caring about Dead Space, to eagerly anticipating its release.  All in the span of a week and a half.  I've been playing the game for about four days now (360 version) and I am approximately halfway through it.  Here are some impressions.

 

First, these are the conditions I have been playing with and I think they are essential for getting maximum enjoyment from the game.

 

1 - Playing at night with all the lights off.  This is the key factor when playing a game of this type.

 

2 - When at all possible, play when nobody else is home.  Makes you feel isolated.  Not as essential, but it does help.  :)

 

3 - I've been playing with quality headphones (Sennheiser HD650's).  A quality surround-sound set-up will work just as well, but I really like the intimacy that the headphones provide.  Playing this game with regular tv speakers is a crime.

 

4 - (Optional) I decided to play through the game on Hard.  This greatly increases the tension you feel when traversing the eerie hallways and locales of the Ishimura (the ship you are in).  Every enemy encounter can mean death and ammo/health become even more precious.

 

Number 1 on that list is key, but combine them all and I guarantee you'll have a good time (if you like being scared . . . which I do).

 

I immediately knew I was going to enjoy the game from its opening sequence.  Something about it just caught my attention.  I was very impressed from a technical standpoint.  The character models looked great and the scene drew me in.  Once in control of my character, again, I was impressed.  It "felt" right.  The games first "action" sequence really got my adrenaline flowing and freaked me out at the same time.  I won't ruin it, but I let out an audible "yelp!" towards the end.  It was great!

 

At this point I have to say, even though all reviews have complimented the game's graphics, I still feel they have short changed it.  I personally think this is one of the best looking titles I have played this generation.  The engine running this game is very impressive.  Everything comes together: great geometry (characters and environments are created with lots of detail), great textures, fantastic lighting, realistic physics, and best of all, a smooth frame-rate.  Then there are all the cool effects, such as the holographic inventory and map, as well as holographic computer monitors, etc.  I cannot express how cool these look.  Then there are the small details, like Isaac (your character) slightly turning his head as you navigate your inventory.  The sequences that take place outside on the ship's hull in the vacuum of space are fantastic.  It just feels like you are actually in space.  A great combination of the visuals and the audio coming together to create the effect.  And I love the seeing the air get sucked out of a room when you open a door leading to the outside.  Just a great detail.  And that is one of the things that has impressed me the most so far with the game, just how much polish and attention to detail it has.  It is in sharp contrast to the last two games I have played, BiA: Hell's Highway and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, both of which had numerous graphical issues and just generally lacked the type of care and "spit and polish" that Dead Space showcases at every turn.

 

The game, as expected, is also terrifying to play.  Especially if you meet all those conditions I listed above.  I found myself inching my way forward, having my weapon ready upon opening every door or turning every corner.  I really felt the dread that your character should be feeling in his situation.  The sound only enhances the experience tenfold.  I was looking over my shoulder constantly and flinching at the slightest of environmental noises.

 

The fact that I have a foundation for the story from the animated comics only enhanced my experience.  Similar to how reading the Mass Effect novel enhanced my enjoyment of that game, the same can be said about Dead Space.  I am even looking forward to the animated flick that will be released at the end of the month.  So far I am really intrigued by the story-line and I am curious to see where it goes.

 

Quick note, playing on Hard is, well, it is Hard.  I have died multiply times, including dying a few times against the very first enemy of the game!  But it does not feel like cheap deaths, I just haven't reacted well in those scenarios.  There are moments when multiple enemies will attack you at once and those sections are brutal.  But in a good way.

 

The much talked about "Strategic Dismemberment" is cool.  Very satisfying.  And leads to an extremely graphic game.  There is a lot of blood and guts in this baby and it wears its "M" rating proudly.  Definitely not a game for the kiddies.

 

I am halfway through the game and I am very impressed so far.  As of right now this is my 2008 Game of the Year (of course, this is the time of year when all the good games come out, Dead Space just happens to be the first).  Again, the developers seem to have gotten almost everything right and they really took their time with this one.

 

I cannot recommend this game enough.

 

Dead Space

All of a sudden, I am now very interested in Dead Space.

I remember reading about the game for the first time when it made the cover of Game Informer a while back. It sounded interesting and had a sci-fi horror vibe to it (similar to Event Horizon, which I thought was a pretty effecting horror flick set in space). But I have to admit, my anti-EA mind set kept me from thinking the game would amount to anything really special.

They released a bunch of animated "comics" for the game on the Market Place and the PS Store and I have been impressed with them. The voice acting is great and they do a good job at drawing me in. Again, I am intrigued, but not convinced.

They released Developer Diaries about the making of the game. Again, looks promising, but I never added the game to my "Must Have" list of fall releases.

Yesterday I watched Gametrailers' Video Preview of the game and it blew me away. I finally caved and I admit, the game looks fantastic!! Graphically, the engine looks rock-solid, delivering top notch visuals and animation. The game interface is also extremely impressive, with holographic images taking the place of a traditional HUD. It all looks really polished.

So, while I really hate having to add another game to the growing list of fall titles, I am going to have to.

Weekend notes . . .

- The Dolphins could not have looked worse against the Cardinals on Sunday. In week one against the Jets we gave up a few big plays and we didn't look great, but at least we were competitive and had a chance at the end. This Cardinals game was over in the 1st quarter. You knew it was going to be a long day when on the Cardinals' first possession they get back to back offensive penalties, setting up 1st and 20, then score on a 79 yard TD pass. Kurt Warner was in MVP form and it looked like he and his monstrously talented receives (Boldin and Fitzgerald) were out there playing catch. Our secondary could do nothing but watch. It is going to be another loooong season . . .

- Once the Dolphins game was 31-3, it was quickly turned off in favor of Rock Band 2. I played a few sets (it was me, Jeanette, and my buddy) and it was loads of fun. We took turns alternating between instruments and it was a blast. Not much has changed as far as gameplay goes (I am using all the original instruments too), but the song selection is great!

- I have been playing a TON of Castle Crashers and I love it! Jeanette is also addicted and we've been playing it every chance we get. Leveling up your characters and finding new weapons and animal orbs is a blast, especially when playing co-op. As soon as it is patched I expect to be able to play with Gabe online.

- Condemned 2 is pretty cool. I'm playing it in short sessions. Playing at night with the lights off greatly enhances the experience, so I don't play during the day.

I am having a technical issue though. I really want to play the game with my headphones, but ever since I got Comcast installed for some reason I am getting interferance from the optical cable of the 360 (I have the 360 connected to a toslink switcher, which I then have connected to my DAC and headphone amp so that I can switch between the 360 and PS3 when I want to use my cans). I must be getting interference from the cable signal since I have to run the 360 optical cable behind my TV stand, because I get no intererance when using the headphones with my PS3 since it is located in the same shelf as the headphone amp so the optical cable for the PS3 does not need to run along the back where all the other many (many) cables are. I have to get this fixed because playing Condemned with the lights off and a good pair of headphones greatly enhances the game.

Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend. The Dolphins beat the Chiefs 24-0 (the real Dolphins, not my Madden team). Granted, it was a preseason game and it means nothing, but dammit, we looked really good and it felt great to look good! I forgot what that was like! You know you're coming off several mediocre years when you end up yelling and celebrating more in a preseason game than you have at any point in the last 4 seasons. :)

I also beat Braid. I think. I found all the puzzle pieces and I got the achievement for completing the game. But it doesn't really "end" per say as far as I can tell. Anyway, the game was quite the experience. I highly recommend it.

I also played some CoD4 multiplayer this weekend. Wow, whenever I stop playing for a while I get absolutely massacred when I get back in. I must have stunk it up for about 10 games before I even started performing decent again. This is still my favorite competitive multiplayer game that I have played.

I checked out the Head Coach demo that is in the PS Store and played around with that for a bit. I like the interface and it seems to be insanely deep (as far as I can tell from the demo). Unfortunately, when I was going to play the week 1 game, the game got stuck in a perpetual load screen. It was loading the game and it did not appear to actually be "stuck" because it kept changing all the facts that were on the screen, but I must have waiting for about 5 minutes for the game to load and nothing. I just turned it off and went to bed. So, all I did basically was get a feel for the menus.

I also tried the Star Wars: Force Unleashed demo (PS3). Everything I have seem on this game to date has been very impressive and the demo continued that trend. Ever since I first played Psi-Ops in the Xbox I dreamed of a Star Wars game being made in that same style. Well, this game is it. I'm a big fan of games that give the player a feeling of empowerment and lets them wreck havoc and this game lets you do just that. The visuals are slick and the control scheme seems solid. I was still in the learning stages so I never felt totally comfortable toggling between all my abilities, but this game has a lot of potential. I'm going to download the 360 version and see which I prefer.

Lastly, after playing through the demo twice, I decided to buy Bionic Commando Rearmed (360). Grin really did a bang-up job with this title. Every little detail about it screams quality. They did not do a half-assed port, you can tell this project was a labor of love for the developer. I have fond memories of the original NES game, but nothing detailed. I remember really enjoying the game, but everything is a haze. So far I am really enjoying Rearmed. It has that great old school vibe and the controls feel great to me. Many are complaining that the controls on the 360 version suck because of the terrible d-pad, and I agree that the d-pad sucks, but I am playing the game with the analog stick and having no problems. The game even supports analog controls (tilt the stick slightly and your character shuffles forward slowly).

The play mechanics remain mainly unchanged, just tweaked here and there. It takes some getting used to though. Your character can't jump after all, and in a side-scrolling platformer not being able to jump just feels wrong on so many levels. That is actually why it took me two play-throughs to buy the game. My first time through was a mixed bag of "Oh yeah, I remember this. Cool" and "Holy $#*@, why can't I &#$% jump! I hate you!". Once you accept the fact that you won't be jumping around and feel comfortable with all the grappling techniques (the advanced tutorial is essential), the game really opens up. And the game is a lot deeper than you initially think. You get many new weapons and items later on so that there is always something fresh to mix things up.

For $10, this game is a crazy bargain. Another recommendation from me. This has been a great month for Live Arcade games. And we still have Castle Crashers to look forward to. Sweet.

I also played Madden (of course) and will put some thoughts up shortly.

Random E3 thoughts . . .

- With all the changes done to E3, it does not look like we'll be seeing any of the big surprises or announcements from years past. The biggest news probably came from Microsoft's camp, with the redesign of the Dashboard (not sure I like it), the addition of Avatars, a Netflix partnership and the announcement that the 360 will be getting Final Fantasy XIII on day one (not a big deal to me since I own both systems and I have not cared for FF since part VII). Nintendo announced their controller doohickey attachment that makes the Wiimote more accurate and a GTA game for the DS. And Sony showed their new video store. Everything else we basically already knew about.

- Gears of War 2 is looking nice. Gameplay seems like more of the same, which can be good and bad. I hope they emphasize the story aspects of the game better this time around and I hope they open up the gameplay a bit to make it less linear and more dynamic. I'd prefer less of the, advance, enter a pre-planned skirmish (with enemies arriving at a pre-determined time), battle, then move on to next section in which enemies appear. All the while the world closes in behind you preventing back-tracking and ushering you forward. I would prefer more open levels, multiple paths (that I don't want a menu to choose my course, let me just choose while playing) and battles that feel fresh each time you replay them (like in Halo). Technically though the game is showing all the improvements done to the Unreal III Engine. I just hope there are no refrigerators with N64 textures this time around.

- I enjoyed the Resistance 2 demo during the Sony Press Conference. Battling that huge creature was pretty impressive and it looked like a lot of fun. I hope the game is full of memorable encounters like that. I never finished the first Resistance (I borrowed it from a friend initially) so I'm not sure how the previous game ended. Don't think that will affect my experience with part 2, but I now wish I would have finished it.

- Resident Evil 5 looks very impressive visually, but I have a big problem with it. Technically, it looks absolutely gorgeous. But the gameplay looks like a carbon copy of part 4. Resident Evil 4 was superb, but times have changed and its controls and general gameplay feel a bit dated. In an interview with one the producers they mentioned that they are aware of this and are working on implementing addition control schemes, but one of them better include strafing and having more control of your movement. Another problem I have, which adds to the "I've been there" feeling, is that a lot of the animation seems to have been borrowed from RE4. The way the enemies approach you holding their weapons above their heads, the way they stagger when you shoot them, the way Chris reloads the sniper rifle, it seems to have been pulled straight from the previous game and it really kills it for me. I do not like recycled animations! Especially when jumping to a whole new console generation for the sequel!!!

- Wii Music did not interest me at all. Watching everybody "performing" on stage, playing their "air" instruments looked dreadfully boring. I do not think any of them were really enjoying themselves, because it did not look like fun at all. The main reason that Guitar Hero and Rock Band are as big as they are is because the instrument controllers give immediate feedback and really emulate the feeling of playing an instrument. I seriously doubt banging on an invisible drum generates the same satisfaction.

- I was really happy they had a teaser for God of War III. The game is probably a long way off and I knew it was being worked on, but just having that "official" confirmation was a relief. I hope it makes a Fall 2009 release!

- Little Big Planet cannot come out soon enough.

- I'm hearing good things about Flower for the PS3. FlOw was interesting, so I'm keeping and eye on this one.

- Fable 2 looks alright. According to Peter it is completed and they are just tweaking and fixing bugs. That is good. I heard a report that the main quest is only about 12 - 15 hours long! That is dreadfully short for an RPG! I understand there is a lot to do besides the main quests, but those side-missions are never as interesting as the main quest. I was hoping for something around 30 hours at least this time around. Especially since you start the game off as a kid, grow up, can get married and even have kids of your own. I'd think more time is needed to really develop that. Oh well. From what I have seen this title is still not a day 1 purchase for me. I did enjoy the 1st one though, despite it falling well short of what was promised.

- I watched a live demo of Left 4 Dead and I was pretty impressed. The game looks like it has potential. Well, any game with zombies has potential in my opinion.

- The new Prince of Persia is looking great. The cell shaded art style looks phenomenal, making the game look like a painting, rather than a cartoon (which is the norm for cell shaded games).

- One game that is quickly rising to the top of my "most anticipated release" list is Mirror's Edge. We've only been given snippets of this game, but it looks fantastic! The two trailers available, which claim to be made up of in-game footage, are absolutely gorgeous! This one has a lot of potential.

- The new James Bond game also had some pretty nifty visuals. Some of the environments I saw were really, really, impressive. Bond himself, modeled after Daniel Craig, looked a bit robotic though, but the textures and lighting were of really high quality. Gameplay looked like a mix of 1st Person Shooting and 3rd person combat similar to the recently released Bourne Identity game (read: fast, cinematic, hand-to-hand combat with timed button presses).

- Did I mention that Little Big Plant looks and sounds great? Just checking . . .

- Seems like Microsoft decided to pull Bungie's announcement of their new Halo game from the Press Conference because they wanted to keep it under 90 minutes. Well, that was freakin' stupid. Umm, I'd think a new Halo game from Bungie is pretty big news . . . but maybe that is just me.

- If Brother's in Arms: Hell's Highway doesn't come out soon I am going to lose all interest in the game. I remember the developers talking about this title before the 360 even came out, comparing its technology to the then about-to-be-released CoD2 and claiming how much more advanced their game was. Well, that was 3 freakin' years ago! Initial glimpses of the game were insanely impressive, but as more time has gone by and other great looking games have come out, Hell's Highway is looking more and more average. I am still looking forward to the tactical gameplay, but I think this game should have been out over a year ago. Graphically, it now looks a bit dated. I'm giving it until September, after that, I might not care anymore. Shame, this was in my top 5 . . . two years ago!

That's all for now, if I think of any other games that caught my eye I'll mention them in a follow-up post.

Metal Gear Solid 4 further impressions

I beat the game yesterday.  Some further thoughts.

 

- Looking back, the first two Acts were probably the best overall, simply because they contained the most actual gameplay.

 

- Act 3 was practically all cut scenes!  It consists of a pretty cool stealth section at the beginning, then an on-rails shooting sequence, followed by a Boss Battle.  That is it.  The rest is broken up by cinemas.  I'd say 70% of that Act is cut scenes.

 

- Speaking of the on-rails shooting sequence, the one in Act 3 was phenomenal.  The camera angles, the graphics, it was insanely intense and engaging.  But again, much like the one at the end of Act 2, the game needs to load constantly between sections and that really takes you out of the moment!  This may not bother some, but it really killed those sections for me.

 

- Like I mentioned, the beginning of Act 4 was simply fantastic.  And the boss battle at the end was just awesome.  Insane fan-service there by Kojima-san.

 

- I don't want to spoil anything (I'm probably going to do a separate post full of spoilers though) but I was not too fond of the ending.  The second ending I should say, since the game doesn't end right when you think it does.  I actually wish it would have ended there, as it would have made for a better conclusion to this series in my opinion.

 

- There were some scenes (read: cinemas) in Act 5 and during the ending that were pretty cheesy, dumb, unnecessary, and melodramatic.  Like I said before, Hideo does not know when to reel it when needed.  I'll definitely be going over these in my spoiler post.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the game.  Technically, it is the most impressive bit of software I have seen to date.  The attention to detail is mind-numbing.  Everything is perfectly modeled.  Even unimportant objects in the background that will only be seen once in a particular cut-scene are modeled with care.  Character faces show a great range of emotion and the lip-syncing is top notch.  The music kicks in when appropriate and gets the pulse racing at the right times.  The story manages to hit a few emotional beats really well too, although when it fumbles in this area its comes off as pretty melodramatic.  The gameplay and controls are refined and will make going back to previous entries in the series a chore.

 

Ironically, it is the story that is this game's Achilles Heel.  It is unavoidable really.  The storyline set up by the previous games was so convoluted and complex, trying to wrap it all up in a coherent manner would have been impossible.  I will give Hideo credit for answering every question you may have though.

 

So, as a result of having so much ground to cover, it leads to the game's biggest flaw, which is the length and frequency of the cut scenes.  No matter how amazing they look (and believe me, they look amazing), the cut scenes just become too much.  This is a videogame after all.  I want to play it.  And when the gameplay is this much fun, it makes the times when you are just sitting there watching all the more frustrating.  I understand that the cinematics are needed.  This wouldn't be a MGS game without them.  And I love the cut scenes.  But MGS4 went from being a cinematic game to being an interactive movie.  Since Hideo was apparently making a film here, he should have used that medium's practice of spending some time in the editing room cutting out unnecessary scenes in an effort to streamline everything, cut down on the running time, and make things flow better.  In this case, I would have taken a Theatrical Cut over a Director's Cut.

 

Reduce the time spent watching by about 30% and turn that percentage into actual gameplay and the end product would have been a much better GAME.

 

I plan on starting over on a harder difficulty and attempting to play through with no kills.  And to try new tactics.  Expect my spoilerific post where I complain about some of the sillier moments in the story in the near future.

 

MGS 4 Update

For fans of the Metal Gear Solid series dating back to MGS 1 on the original Playstation, wait until you begin Act 4 of MGS4.

 

Wow.  I did not see that coming.  Hideo pulled that off beautifully.  The combination of what was happening, with the choice to have the music kick in at just the right time, along with the audio ""flashbacks", it all came together to create one of the best videogame experiences I've had in a long time.

 

Bravo Hideo.  Bravo.

 

One more thing . . .

I just finished Act 2 in MGS 4.  I have mixed feelings on its finale.  Very mild spoilers ahead.

 

On one hand, the Act ends on a very exciting, pulse pounding note.  An intense escape, great action sequences,  crazy awesome battle (although only in cinematic form).  But there were numerous load-screens breaking up every few minutes of gameplay, and that REALLY killed a lot of the excitement.  With all the installing the game needs to do, having full blown load screens occurring in the middle of an intense chase really destroyed the flow of the action and took me completely out of the moment.  That could have been a truly memorable section, yet what I remember the most was my disappointment every time the game had to load the next section.  Not good.

 

Will keep posting impressions as I go.  The beginning of Act 3 is pretty interesting so far.  Very different from previous MGS titles.

 

MGS 4 Impressions

I've played through the first act of MGS4 and put in a few hours into the 2nd.  Some thoughts:

 

- While the game does have a required 9 minute install, at least it attempts to make those 9 minutes entertaining by having you watch Snake light up a few smokes while interesting (and often funny) messages appear on the screen.  The game also needs to install after every act apparently, although those are a lot shorter (just a couple of minutes).

 

- No doubt this game is cinematic.  Expect plenty of the MGS "formula".  Play for 5 minutes.  Watch for 5 minutes.  Rinse, repeat.  I just finished watching a cinematic that must have been about 20 minutes long.  I hear there are longer ones towards the end too.  While they look ultra slick, are extremely well directed, and highlight the amazing visuals (all the cinematics are in real-time), I already get the feeling that this is more of a interactive movie than a game.  A lot of really cool things happen in cinemas that I think you should be controlling.  Kojima needs to reel it in a bit.  There is a lot of talking that can be condensed by 75%.  Characters still go into their drawn out monologues way too often.  Thankfully, Codec conversations have been kept to a minimum (those long codec conversations for MGS2 still haunt me).  If I need to sit through a long boring speech, at least let it play it out a cut-scene and not two talking heads with scrolling text.  You can also pause cinematics now, which given their length and frequency, comes in very handy.

 

- The gameplay itself is the best in the series.  Snake can now walk while crouching (before he would begin to crawl on his stomach if you attempted to move from a crouching position, whoch got annoying).  The camera is extremely manageable.  Gunplay is also much improved.  The new Octocamo is awesome, taking MGS3's camo index and simplifying it (no more menus).  It also makes it a lot more realistic; just how was "Snake" switching camo patterns on the fly in MGS3? (Must be a fast dresser)

 

- Speaking of realistic (or lack thereof), one of my biggest pet peeves of previous entries - items and weapons that float and spin in the air - have thankfully been removed.  Items and weapons now lay on the ground in a realistic manner.  One thing that boggles my mind though is where Snake keeps that giant oil drum when he is not using it??

 

- David Hayter, who has voiced Snake since MGS, turns in another raspy performance.  A bit too raspy in my opinion.  Yes, Snake is older and has health issues, but his performance doesn't even sound believable to me anymore.  It just sounds like someone purposely trying to sound as raspy as possible and I found it comical more times than not.

 

- I just had my first big boss battle and it was a lot of fun.  That is one thing this series has consistently gotten right.

 

That's it for now.  Will give further impressions as I play (watch?) some more.

 

Ninja Gaiden II impressions:

I've played the first few chapters of the game.  Some quick impressions:

 

- Graphically, it looks similar to Sigma on the PS3 with new animations.  I would have liked a bigger jump for the sequel given the fact that it is jumping from one generation (Xbox) to the next (360).  Don't get me wrong, the game looks far better than the Xbox original, but the graphical style and gameplay are so similar, it comes off as just a high-res/higher polygon upgrade.  The first game set a new level for graphics when it came out.  The sequel does no such thing.

 

- This game is ultra violent.  Gratuitously so.  All the hacked limbs do work into the gameplay though.  Limbless enemies are especially dangerous, performing devastating suicide bombings on Ryu which pack a wallop of damage.  Taking those wounded enemies out with a press of the Y button is a treat though, since you'll get various killing animations depending on the weapon you are using and the limbs the enemy is missing.

 

- The controls are basically the same as the previous games.  Combat controls are ultra-refined and feel great.  The rest of the controls, not so much.  Platforming has always felt odd in this series because of Ryu's jumping mechanics and the fact that he clings to walls, making some sections extra annoying when you want to run across a wall but instead run UP the wall and fall down and off a ledge.

 

- The camera is just awful in this game.  It is even worse than in the original.  Well, I never played the "original", I only played Black and that game gave you a bit more control of the camera.  Still, the camera in Black and Sigma was never this annoying.  You'd think after 2 rehashes they would have improved on the camera.  But you'd be wrong.

 

- I've already experienced some sections that felt pretty cheap, with enemies hitting me with fire projectiles from what seemed like across the level.  These fire-missiles are unblockable and you can't see them coming.  So damn annoying.  And cheap.

 

- The combat itself is as solid as ever.  I have only been able to try one new weapon so far, the Wolverine claws.  That is not what they are officially called, but that is what I am calling them.  They are extremely satisfying to yield.

 

- The quick saving you can do now is great.  Not that saving the game took that long before, but it is even faster now.

 

I think I have complained more than given praise in these impressions.  Bottom line is that the game is very much Ninja Gaiden.  That might be its biggest negative.  There is not much innovation here.  This feels more like an expansion pack than a true sequel.  The original did such an amazing job of reviving the action genre I guess I was expecting the sequel to do it again.  I wanted something that felt newer, especially after playing through Black and Sigma.

 

I still have a way to go, so I'll write further impressions later on.  If you're a NG fan, you'll have fun with this one, and have the benefit of not having to go through the learning curve again.  Just jump in and start hacking off those limbs!