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14.8.11
Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade continues with Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, a 2D Metroidvania game from developer Fuel Cell Games, and animator Michel Gagné. The Xbox Live Arcade has no shortage of quality platformers, but Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet sets itself apart with a heavily-stylised art direction and an impressive atmosphere. The game has a few technical issues holding it back from greatness, but its offbeat, edgy charm and mostly-solid mechanics make for a well-playing and a highly-unique experience.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet opens with an unknown darkness enveloping the star of a small solar system, spreading its corruptive influence to the nearby planets. Players take control of a nameless spaceship pilot, as he attempts to thwart the planet’s darkness and restore his home. The story is told sans dialogue, through a small series of short cutscenes, letting gamers focus on the gameplay with little interruption from the plot.
Gameplay consists of exploring the eponymous planet, defeating bosses and discovering new tools for further exploration. Players will chart their way through six different areas, and, in true Metroidvania fashion, revisit them several times with new abilities. Hidden throughout the map are upgrades to the ship’s weapons and armour, with additional cinematics or pieces of concept art lying even further off the beaten path.
Play mechanics in Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet are fairly sound. Controlling a spaceship allows for greater mobility than other platforming titles, letting gamers zip about to their heart’s content. As a result, much of the game is built around solving equipment-related puzzles to get to the next area, rather than tricky jumps or intense combat. The tools collected throughout the game are varied, from object-destroying missiles to block-moving tractor beams. Many of the items collected can also be used in battle, such as the laser’s crowd-control abilities, or the barrier’s ability to block oncoming enemy fire.
Part of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet’s draw is its imaginative art direction, by Michel Gagné. Gagné, an effects animator who has worked on films such as An American Tail, The Land Before Time and The Iron Giant, gives every environment an off-kilter, malevolent edge, with stark and sharply-contrasting colours and harsh-looking landscapes. With its borderless designs and intensely-saturated aesthetic, the overall look of the game is reminiscent of the TV series Samurai Jack.
The art lends itself to the atmosphere as well. The backgrounds often have different activities visible in the distance, from flying birds to flowing liquid, whilst the sound design is filled with ambient noises of the planet functioning. The game uses progressively darker colours, as players delve further and further into the planet, making the excursion feel akin to Journey to the Centre of the Earth or, combined with the free range of movement, deep sea exploration.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is not without its faults, though. Many puzzles rely on the grappling tool for their solution, but unlike other items in the game, there’s never a clear ‘tell’ of what can be grappled and what can’t, leaving players to blind grab at various objects in the environment, usually with negative results. The map system also doesn’t do as good a job as other, similar titles at hinting at potentially-hidden items in the environment; completists looking to collect every hidden trinket are going to face an uphill battle.
At its best, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet flaunts several brilliant puzzle scenarios, making creative use of previously-gained equipment and making the player feel clever for solving them. At its worst, however, it creates many overly-vague and arbitrary situations, leaving the player to literally grope around the environment for a solution that will lead them to the next area. This wide split between the fun and the frustrating makes Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet a somewhat schizophrenic experience.
Ultimately, though, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is a fine game, with addictive exploration elements and a look that is a welcome antidote to modern next-gen visual stylings (read: bronze-and-dirt-coloured). It’s the least of the three Metroidvania titles on the Xbox Live Arcade (behind Shadow Complex and Outland), but Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet’s solid hook, fun play mechanics and inventive art direction still make it well-worth invading.
8/10 [?]
Labels: 2011, 360, Andrew Testerman, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Michel Gagné, Microsoft, Review, Shadow Planet Productions, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, Xbox Live Summer of Arcade
- Andrew Testerman
Halo is a legendary series. An important game. A trusted name. And, undoubtedly, a consistent cash source. Its legacy will continue on regardless of what you might think, and that's why we're getting Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition this autumn. It's an important release, not only because it symbolises the tenth year of Halo's creation, but because it also presents questions about future re-releases in the same vein. Isn't it time that these remake games offered more of what we loved in the original, instead of 'balancing' our vintage gameplay?
Halo: Combat Evolved was the seminal title that started it all. You've heard this line a myriad of times, but it doesn't change the facts. Halo is an important game because of what it brought to the console market; first-person shooters were never as solid, didn't run nearly run as smoothly, and definitely didn't have the addictive gameplay or - most importantly - multiplayer functionality that the original Halo did. The closest title I can think of is GoldenEye 007, released during the Nintendo 64 era, but let's be honest: that game doesn't come anywhere close to what Halo has become.
Saying all that, it's been ten years since Halo: Combat Evolved pleasantly surprised the console world, and now - surprising us again - is a re-release, or a 're-imagining', of the original game. Set to release on the 15th of November, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is the complete original Halo game with new, additional high-definition visuals and other unique features. Just some of these features include the ability to swap old graphics with the new on-the-fly, online co-op, and remastered versions of old maps available for multiplayer (as if that wasn't already guaranteed).
Forgive my satire, but this 'new' Halo game is a bastard child. It's another short-lived, uninspired way to cash in the Halo name for something that really doesn't have to be remade at this very moment. Unfortunately, this game has no place in the library of titles out there and will do nothing but augment the apprehension we'll all feel when more of these 'remakes' hit store shelves. Regardless, the first game was pretty grand; yes, it had its flaws such as awful level design later on, but it was a solid title that left quite a bit to build on. A remake sounds great on paper, but in reality it's nothing more than a retail, super-expensive expansion pack for Reach.
The best part about this game is that 343 Industries are remaining true to the original campaign and leaving it relatively unscathed and unmodified. The pistol is still going to be an insanely powerful side-arm, vehicles won't explode and the Energy Sword - or any other crazy-ass weapon, for that matter - simply won't be useable or might not even exist. Yes, I'll admit, The Library is a horrible part of the original's campaign, which I'm sure many would like to see changed in this re-release, but that brings me right onto my next question: should a remake change the original source due to its infamy? My answer is a resounding "no".
If your game is getting the remake treatment, it's almost certainly because someone upstairs believes that there's a fanbase for it, one that will snatch up your remade product and make you some nice, easy money in the process. But these fans want to see the game they loved, the one tucked away in their memory alongside a big serving of nostalgia, not some abomination that's been tweaked to make the game play 'better'. It may sound contradictory, but the game actually plays 'better' when it's true to the original source and, whilst I hate to say it, The Library is something that defined the original Halo. It wasn't good level design, and it wasn't fun to play through, but it served as an integral part of the game that has become nothing short of a legend. I wouldn't be opposed to having the option to play through a modified or uncut version of a game (like the way some movies present you with a similar option), but the original basis for the remake must still be present.
This is something 343 understands, but still ignores.
Announcing the fourth, fifth and sixth Halo iterations at once at this year's E3, 343 decided it was a good idea to throw some canon into the anniversary game, as a prelude to the release of Halo 4 next year. That means we'll get to access terminals akin to the ones found in Halo 3 for Halo 4... in the original game. It's as stupid as it sounds. Certain changes are needed, I agree, like the implementation of Xbox Live to make co-op play possible over the internet. Modifications like that are fine as they aren't making any tangible changes to the core gameplay. Adding terminals that cater for future Halo games is, however. And that's worthless.
Speaking of modification and change, the multiplayer in this game is already laughable. One could make the argument that the game is simply devoid of multiplayer altogether. You'd think, would you not, that if you're making a stand-alone remake of the original Halo, you'd have to throw the multiplayer in there as well right? Apparently not, because the Combat Evolved play-style is not coming to consoles this November. Instead, seven maps from the original Halo are going to be ported to Reach.
I just can't understand why a company would attempt to remake a classic game, but orchestrate such alien devices on one of its most beloved assets. People want to play online multiplayer Combat Evolved-style: they want to use the pistol to destroy you repeatedly, but it's just not going to happen. It's akin to putting cover-based shooter Gears of War up for a remake in a few years, but deciding to make its online component Blitzball. Who the hell wants to play Blitzball?
Halo Anniversary is a remake, and I remind you that the original game is already available to download from Xbox Live. Come November, you're essentially spending upwards of forty dollars on merely a graphical update and seven new, old maps for Reach. Whilst the terminal thing can easily be overlooked, the absence of Combat Evolved's original multiplayer component cannot be. This is unacceptable, especially since future remakes of other games will likely follow in this game's footsteps. Never should there be a game of this calibre being remade with a key, core component omitted. If HD remakes like Sly Cooper and God of War can get it all right, Halo should have no problems rivalling them.
Labels: 2011, 343 Industries, Andrew Whipple III, Bungie, Feature, Halo, Halo Anniversary, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition, Microsoft, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360
- Andrew Whipple III
E3 isn't far off. As a matter of fact, we're actually less than a month away from experiencing all the news and delicacies that keep you drooling at the mouth annually. There's quite the lineup this year and, with big-name rumours alongside inevitable surprises, I'll take a chance here and say that this year will be one of the more definitive conferences.
Saying that, it's time we made a wishlist of what we're expecting to see at E3 2011.
One of the most anticipated announcements will come with Nintendo's press conference. Should they unveil the Wii's successor, some sort of cataclysm will surely surround the L.A. Convention Center. With developers already speaking out about it, I'm pretty certain that this rumour will turn out to be true, and we'll get some beefy details on the Super Nintendo Wii, along with its assortment of games. Will it have connection options with the 3DS? Will it play GameCube and Wii titles? How about the stuff we've already bought off the Nintendo Shop? I have no doubt this will all be addressed, and hopefully Nintendo will stick with what they've been saying and will garner more third-party support for their new platform. No crazy ass controllers with LCD screens can make up for the same shoddy lineup we've been receiving with the Wii.
Along the lines of new platforms, Sony has something to reveal in the form of their 'Next Generation Portable', or NGP, the working title of the PSP's new successor. Their press conference will likely delve into the madness that was the PSN outage, but I fully expect Kaz Hirai and his entourage to lighten the mood with some excellent announcements and further information on the NGP. After that, maybe we'll get some definite dates on The Last Guardian, and more Twisted Metal news. Oh, yeah, and you can't forget that Naughty Dog will undoubtedly be present showing off more Uncharted 3 goodness. Epic is almost certainly going to be showing Gears of War 3 at Microsoft's press conference, and with Killzone 3 already out, an Uncharted 3 stage demo is almost certain to happen.
The biggest tease going around at this moment is the Modern Warfare 3 quadra-trailer apocalypse. Regardless of what it looks like, the game is going to sell, but a lot rides on its execution. With the original Infinity Ward all but gone, the new staff have tremendous pressure on them to deliver a stellar, triple-A experience. If not, you'll probably find Call of Duty heading even further towards the waste basket than you previously realised.
Speaking of Infinity Ward...
Respawn, the new studio under EA headed up by major ex-Infinity Ward employees, has been extremely quiet. We know they're working on a new project but the legal troubles they've been tied up in with Activision is more than likely impeding their progress. I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't hear anything at all from them this E3, but then again, EA has invested valuable resources in this project, so maybe something might manifest on the showroom floor.
Since we're on the topic of shooters, Gears of War 3 should have a tremendous presence this year, but I am expecting a reveal of the next Halo game sometime soon as well. Whether it be at Halo Fest later this August in Seattle, or at E3 next month, you know its coming. Plus, since we already know the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved is on the way, the new game could be closer than originally anticipated. Regardless of all this Uncharted, Gears, and Halo talk, my main hope and concern is that we're honoured with some solid info on Half-Life 2: Episode 3. It's been in the works for just about forever, and what with the Portal 2 release version containing more than a few Half-Life easter eggs, I'd be ecstatic to see that their next project is, indeed, this. Also, maybe seeing some Defense of the Ancients 2 footage wouldn't hurt either?
BioWare should, once again, set the show on fire with another tantalising The Old Republic trailer. I'm expecting more news on it, but I'd be taken aback if more people weren't actually playing the game this year than talking about it. Mass Effect 3 should also have its own panel Q&A sessions, and surely we'll be bombarded with information, since its release isn't too far off (beginning of 2012). I'd also like to hear gasps of excitement when Team Ninja shows new gameplay from Ninja Gaiden 3. Will it happen? Who knows, but we haven't had any news on it since the original teaser. Whyever not now?
Batman: Arkham City is going to be a great game, but new gameplay footage wouldn't hurt its cause. Starhawk, too, should be making its first official appearance, so we'll see what the big deal is behind the "spiritual successor" to Warhawk. Other than that, there's quite a bit else I'd like to jump into, but we'll have to wait to see what E3 brings. As long as I get an answer on HL2: Episode 3, see some Duke Nukem gameplay again, and get my questions about the new hardware aligned, I'll be a happy camper.
Oh, and I almost completely forgot. Dark Souls is going to be there. I really would like to see more of that heinous game.
How about all of you? Are there any games that you're wanting to make an appearance? What's your most anticipated of E3 2011? Sound off in the comments section below!
Labels: 2011, Andrew Whipple III, E3 2011, Epic Games, Gears of War 3, Microsoft, Naughty Dog, Nintendo, Sony, Uncharted 3
- Andrew Whipple III
I own a PS3. In fact, I've owned every Playstation console. I've followed the Metal Gear Solid series from humble beginnings to tired old end, played over a decade of FIFAs on a Dualshock, and booted up all three machines countless times. I really like my Playstation 3.
But I'd never fight for it.
I own a PS3 for a plethora of totally inconsequential reasons. When 2007 rolled around, I decided to plump up the extra money due to little things; I was much more comfortable with the Sony controller, I wanted to finish off exclusive series, I had some old Playstation games I didn't want to become obsolete. It was just habit. If I had the money, I'd buy an Xbox 360. And I'd really like it, too - for different reasons, obviously. Maybe I'd make a snap judgement like 'Nah, I don't like the buttons on the controller much' or 'I dislike the green colour scheme', and then I'd be favouring one console over another. But do you see how absolutely minute the details are there? How utterly trivial the minor discrepancies between green and red, Sony and Microsoft, PS3 and 360 are? At the end of the day, they both play games, and all I want to do is play games. Whichever I use, I win.
That's just a brief outline of why I hate fanboys with an undying passion. Occasionally, there's a story or event that brings these gormless, cowardly fools into the deadly pits of forums and websites across the internet, where they ooze out senseless propaganda and whip up scornful hatred again the 'opposing side', because... well, I'm not really sure. For some reason, one of those machines is infinity better than the other due to [insert minor difference here]. Duh.
So, the PSN is down. The online service that connects the Playstation universe has fallen to unknown forces, and rumour is rife. It's the perfect storm for flame wars, as users complain how incompetent Sony is, or remind others that Xbox Live went down once, for a while, and that the PSN being down proves nothing/proves everything. But when you step back for a minute, and just lay down your internet quill, you may come to a different conclusion:
A free service that users have no absolute right to has been taken down, possibly due to a very large security threat, and no one has much control over the situation.
For some reason, IGN decided to get involved in all of this, demanding answers, putting a useless, fanboy-baiting, size 72 'Yes/No' sign up, and just generally trying to cause as much of a stir as possible. Various websites reported on Sony fans thanking the Playstation Blog for continued updates, even if all they did was update on the lack of updates, and the internet basically dissolved into a riotous street brawl, full of misspelt swear words and insinuations.
It's very frustrating to watch all this. There seem to be two views on dealing with PSN downtime - either rise up with your comrades and demand compensation from Sony, or do other stuff. The 'do other stuff camp' seems insistent on dressing up as your mother and patronizing you about how it's such a warm day outside, and you should get a life and go make some friends. It's very much a time for extremism.
It really shouldn't be. While it's true that the PSN is down, and you can't play games online, it's really no cause for all this anger. I'm using my very limited economic knowledge to guess that, oh, I don't know, bringing down the online capabilities of a machine owned by millions probably isn't good for business. So, Sony aren't secretly holding PSN down to mess with people, or to frame some internet group, or to validate any other childish rumour; their service went down because of circumstances we do not fully understand. No one really had a choice. And yet there are so many posts and threads demanding compensation, that this is an outrage, and so-and-so should be shot. This too shall pass.
Everyone, just chill out.
Labels: 2011, Chris, Chris Hawke, Fanboys, Microsoft, PlayStation, PSN, Sony, Xbox 360
- Chris Hawke
Windows Solitaire, often called the 'Game of the Year All Years', may be the most horrible game ever made.
Base gameplay, lazy graphics, no storyline, disturbing sound effects, infuriating 'tips' and no online community to speak of all combine to form this digital Antichrist. When Bill Gates is inevitably slain and feasted on by thousands of his mutinous employees at the Ragnarok, his soul will be sent by Hades to the pit of Tartarus, where he will be forced to play Solitaire in a spiked chamber without food, rest, or water until the end of time.
To understand the extent to which this game is evil, one must look first to its history, and then to its design.
In 1989, Microsoft was working on the famous Windows 3.0. Scared that normal, god-fearing citizens would shy away from the black magic of graphical user interfaces, the company asked its employees to find a way to "sooth people intimidated by the operating system." An intern, Wes Cherry, took up the hero's call, developing a game which would not only relax users to the point of a Prozac overdose, but also familiarise them with the point-and-click functionality of a mouse. In 1990 this application was unleashed on the public, and found its way into homes and offices everywhere. The game we know as Solitaire was born.
Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Solitaire is love.
It is a date that will live in infamy.
Since that time, Solitaire has claimed the lives of millions, and proudly boasts that it is likely the most-played game in the history of gaming. It's the definition of big.
Early concept art of "Captain Solitaire," proposed cameo character for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Now that you know how Solitaire was allowed to happen, let's discuss how exactly is works.
Windows Solitaire was modelled after "Klondike," a solo card game played mostly by seniors, librarians, cat ladies and other lonely people. It uses a standard 52-card deck, arranged into a row of four cards at the top right of the playing table, a seven-card row just below it, and a shuffled deck at the top left. Once the table is set, players attempt to line up cards in a sequential order while following these rules.
Designing a video game based on Klondike is like writing a screenplay about the life and times of a clump of soil.
Note the soothing forest green backdrop, relaxing blue-pattern art, and the "it's all going be okay" scenic snowy-road sketch on kings and other face cards.
The gameplay in Windows Solitaire is about as close to legalised soma as I've experienced playing a game. First of all, the colours, aesthetics, and sounds are all designed to calm you down after a tense day at work/day with the kids/day burying bodies/day digging up bodies/day of protesting/other stressful experience (delete as applicable). Cute boinks! and card-shuffling motions! can be heard when you do just about anything, and the visuals play on colours that anyone who has taken a basic theatre costuming class can tell you will instantaneously inspire trust and relaxation in an audience. While plaing Solitaire you may feel the sensation of Bill Gates reassuringly petting you from behind an invisible wall.
If you can shake off the feeling that Windows Solitaire may be trying to seduce you, you'll soon find yourself angry at the chance-based nature of the game. Without using the secret
[CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + CLICK] draw cheat, a player will likely lose one out of every four games he or she begins.
...goddammit.
Because of this ridiculous loss-to-win ratio, every man, woman, and child who has ever played Solitaire craves its fabled waterfall win screen, to the point where they will call in all nearby living creatures at this point, here...
Mom! Dad! Uncle Frank! Wolfie! Mailman! Aged derelict who smells of wine/urine, steals bottles from our recycling can, and I will now refer to as "Ole Toothy!" Come quick!!
... just so everyone can experience this moment, here:
We did it... We finally did it, Ole Toothy! Oh god, after so much!
Taken as a whole, Windows Solitaire is nothing more than another attempt by Bill Gates and Microsoft to dumb us down, beating us with the cushy hammer of cuteness so that we don't notice him breaking into our home, stealing our wallets, and grab-assing our daughters. It was founded as a tool to stupefy us, as Windows users, to a point where we smilingly accept whatever they feed us. It may seem fun at first, but you know what else seems fun?
Communism.
Never play Solitaire again.
2/10 [?]
Labels: 2011, Greg Mengel, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, PC, Review, Solitaire
- Greg Mengel
I loved Fable II. The way that it combined RPG elements with the staples of an adventure game really drew me in, with the choices you made and the way your character shaped the world really setting it apart from other games on the market. It was also genuinely funny, with some great voice acting and a quirky, Tim Burton-esque art style. Sure, there were technical issues and the combat was simple, but I sunk so many hours into Fable II that I even went to the lengths of unlocking every single achievement for it - including the DLC.
Fast-forward to 2010, and here is Fable III. A game that, like it's predecessor, is full of charm and plenty of heart. It's also a game that is going to be compared to the likes of Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. At least that's what you'd think, because really, at it's core, Fable III isn't really an RPG at all.
When you boot the game up for the first time, you're given the familiar choice of choosing to be a male or female character. In Fable III, this choice sees you pick a Prince or a Princess, as you play as the sibling of Albion's new, (not so) benevolent King Logan. Both you and Logan are the children of your character from Fable II, although don't expect the in-depth game-save reading found in Mass Effect 2: from what I noticed the only attribute or decision used from Fable II is what gender your character was. The game doesn't waste any time throwing you into the action as you're soon introduced to the nastiness of your older brother, and you have to make a very important and game-changing choice right at the very start (which I won't spoil here). Once that's done, you set off on an escape of the castle with your mentor, Sir Walter Beck, butler Jasper and loyal canine companion. From there onwards your journey to becoming a hero begins, as you fight your way across Albion to recruit followers and take down Logan. For the first time ever in Fable, the much talked about land of Aurora can now be visited and the game gets noticeably darker from that point on. Whether that's a good or bad thing probably comes down to personal opinion, but I thought it was a bit at odds with what makes Fable so unique: its splendid world and great sense of humour both disappear in the last third of the game.
What's interesting about Fable III's story is that it doesn't end where you'd expect it to, as once you defeat Logan a whole new portion of the game opens up in which you are the King, making decisions and trying to keep promises that you had previously made in order to gain followers. It's a cool element but doesn't really feel fully realised; the decisions you make are very limiting and are so clearly black-or-white that they come across as a little contrived. Most of the time these decisions come down to how much money you have in the bank, so you don't really feel like you're doing anyhing, with things instead determined by your bank balance. Without wanting to spoil anything, things in your kingdom can go badly wrong at the end of the game, and if that happens the world becomes... well, you're probably not going to want to play anymore. Fable III's end-game takes some admirable risks, but it gets to a stage where the game seems to want to shock you more than it wants you to have fun: a fatal error.
What I will give props to the story for is a great use of cut scenes which were stubbornly omitted from Fable II to try and keep you 'immersed'. Their use here shows that a good cut-scene should not be underestimated. They're brought to life by the stunning cast, perhaps the best I've ever seen in a game: it's basically a who's-who of British talent, with appearances from Simon Pegg, Jonathan Ross, Michael Fassbender, John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Bernard Hill, Ben Kingsley, Zoe Wanamaker and Naomie Harris are all present and accounted for. The writing is excellent, with some fantastically witty dialogue permeating the whole experience. Annoyingly a lot of this humour and wit is lost in the final portion of the game.
Fortunately the rest of the game leading up to the conclusion is cracking Fable fun with all the great elements you've come to expect from the series: great quest variety, fantastic imagination, genuinely funny moments, memorable characters and some spectacular locales. In your quest to becoming King or Queen, you'll take on quests ranging from escorting townsfolk through scary forests to raiding a bandit camp. The more creative quests see you perform a series of roles in ridiculous theatre performances and dress up as a chicken to coax some poultry back into their pens. As well as the great quests, it's still a joy just to explore Albion with it's terrific art-style and funny characters. Hunting down pesky gnomes that take the place of the gargoyles from Fable II is well worth it, in fact this is one of the few games where hunting down collectibles is actually enjoyable.
Albion is a terrific world, but the aforementioned Aurora is a bit of a kick in the teeth for players. The game takes on a dramatically different feel, with the land coming across as a really dark version of something from Arabian Nights. It feels very out of place and that portion of the game just isn't very fun to play through.
The final portion of the game isn't helped by the fact that, by the time you reach the end of the game, the core gameplay is starting to feel a little bit tiresome. The gameplay mechanics are much the same as Fable II but have been even further simplified. Combat is still restricted to one button for melee, one button for firearms and one button for magic. Unlike Fable II though, where the system was surprisingly deep for such simple mechanics, Fable III's combat is stupidly easy. To sum it up, there's an Xbox LIVE Achievement for finishing the game without dying and I completed it with ease.
The character interactions, job systems, character customisation and the role of your dog is also significantly simplified. You can now only perform one of three interactions with a character at any one time, and the game selects these randomly so if you want to hug your spouse you have to hope the game is going to let you. The jobs are so boring now they're hardly worth it, boiling down to hitting the same button again and again until you make enough money. Whilst these simplified mechanics are refreshing and fun for a while, after seven or eight hours they become tedious.
What does liven the game up a bit is the fantastic co-op, which is one element from Fable II that has been expanded rather than dumbed down. Combat becomes immediately more bearable with two players, but it's the other things you can do together that set this apart from other co-op games. You can get married, have kids, set up a business partnership, share dogs, trade items and gold and plenty more. It's deep and rewarding to play the game with another player, but most importantly of all it's great fun. It's available both locally and on Xbox Live, which is a plus, and the latter removes any movement restrictions so your characters are no longer tethered together, which allows you to be doing completely different activities in different parts of the world at the same time.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Fable III is the user interface. Basically, rather than a pause menu to access maps, potions and weapons, you now have the Sanctuary. Pressing the Start button takes you there, and it's essentially a visual representation of a pause menu with different rooms representing the sub-menus. I found it to be a fantastic system and used very well; the map is an especially neat feature as you can now set waypoints and zoom right in on people and buildings. However, I do understand that some people would prefer to have quick access to a pop-up map or quest log without having to bother with the Sanctuary, and that's where the problem lies. It seems as though the interface in Fable II was so bad that Lionhead decided to get rid of it rather than simply make a better menu system. It's not that hard to design a good menu system, so this is an area that some may find bemusing.
Fable III's graphical style is one of the game's big strong points. Technically it's a lot better than Fable II, although it's not going to have you ooohhh-ing and ahhh-ing at the screen. What sets it apart is the terrific art style, with beautiful environments and cool-looking enemies being the stand-out aspects. I've already talked about the voice acting (which is superb), and the rest of the audio is of a high standard. Danny Elfman composed the main theme and it's still as haunting and memorable as ever, whilst the rest of the score stands up as well.
As you can tell, there is a lot to consider when reviewing Fable III and I don't think there's been another game this year that will split opinions to the extent that this game will. For what it's worth, I do think that a lot of the core gameplay is overly simple and the game definitely runs out of steam in the latter stages. However, when considered as an experience, Fable III is a joy. It's still set in a fantastic world with great characters, it looks and sounds as good as anything else on Xbox 360 and it stands out as top of the RPG or Adventure genre in terms of its quest variety. Ultimately, whilst the gameplay may be a little unfulfilling for some, Fable III is still one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of the year: there's just nothing else like it. From the casual adventuring to the unique charms of being the ruler or your own kingdom, Fable III is chock-full of fun. If you have an Xbox 360 and are looking to spice up your games library with something other than a shooter, then Fable III is absolutely worth checking out.
8/10 [?]
Labels: 2011, 360, Fable III, Lionhead Studios, Microsoft, Microsoft Game Studios, Review, Tom Acres, Xbox 360
- Unknown
This is a second review of Halo Reach, by Andrew Whipple III. Our original review can be found here.
Halo: Reach marks Bungie’s last title in the Halo era. All is not over: whilst Bungie may be moving to make games for Activision, the Halo series will be retained by Microsoft and handed to new devs, 343 Studios. Whatever comes of that, Bungie’s last foray into their own creation is a refinement of the highest calibre and poses 343 Studios with quite a challenge to surpass. Reach is, simply, everything you’ve come to expect from a Halo game.
But that might not be a good thing.
Depending on which side of the conflict you’re on, you either enjoy Halo or you cringe at the very mention of another game set in the popular universe. Halo is a fast and frenetic affair that has won over millions of gamers and, more importantly, its mechanics helped shape a console-centric industry into what we see today. The Halo series is an important asset to gaming, and as the swan song for Bungie, Reach offers the most out of any of the previous games.
Everyone knows the ending to this story. Often hinted at, referred to in other games and even brought-to-light in a book surrounding the incident, Reach is doomed to fall victim to the Covenant onslaught. If that doesn’t make any sense, this is a prequel to all the events in the Halo universe. The planet Reach is a militarised world, upon which rests a significant amount of human technology, which plays an integral role at beating back the planet's alien invaders. You play a decisive role in the war as part of an elite squad of Spartan soldiers called Noble Team. As Noble Six, you and your team are tasked with taking down various objectives in an attempt to thwart Covenant advances. Of course, it will all be in vain, but certain cameos and events link directly with the Halo games which can make it all worth something upon the game’s completion.
It was only recently that we were first able to play through the games with more than two of our friends, a feature which was first heralded in by Halo 3, returned in ODST, and is also present in Reach. It’s definitely the best way to go through the campaign, but you can elect to play solo if it’s more to your liking. Just as in Halo 3 or ODST, you can also manipulate the scoring and the different skills available to make the game more challenging. Unfortunately, the campaign this time around isn’t as good as you might expect, and suffers from a myriad of issues that can only be described as frustrating.
The game’s campaign is built around a cooperative experience, which is all well and good, but - like Lost Planet 2 - you really need those other players to make the game feel the way it’s supposed to. You see, the enemies occupying Reach are in their thousands - they're everywhere. There are so many that I found myself running past conflicts just to progress to the next checkpoint. It doesn’t help that the game doesn’t scale depending on how many people are in your game either; if you’re at one section with four people and have to fight several Hunters and twenty Elites, that number won’t go down if you’re playing solo. It might not seem like a big issue, but even playing on the recommended setting of Heroic for Halo veterans (like myself) was a labour.
All the enemies are much tougher now: Jackal shields can take a huge amount of punishment, Elite shields sometimes take a full clip to take down, and even some Grunts take more than one shot to the head to kill. At one point I shot a Hunter over twenty times in their exposed weakness with the DMR (the new Battle Rifle), struck him twice with Plasma grenades, and fired two rockets, only to see the bastard still standing. It gets especially frustrating when Grunts, Brutes and the Golden Elites all come at you with Fuel-Rod Cannons, which are hands-down the most annoying weapon to deal with in the campaign. It isn't nearly a large enough deal to ruin the game if you’re playing with friends, though, because you’ll just respawn if killed. For instance, there was a point in the latter half of the game when I encountered a Brute with ridiculously strong shields and, of course, a Fuel-Rod Cannon. I hit the guy with my own cannon five different times but he still didn’t go down. I had to wait for the game to send AI in to have even a remote chance against him. If I had companions in the game with me we would just throw ourselves up against the thing until it died. It’s things like that which detract from the overall experience.
The biggest problem, though - even after the AI and scaling issues - is the story. You already know how the story ends, leaving Bungie with many creative possibilities when it came to conveying the story. They had a chance to enthrall you with some very emotional roles or maybe involve you in something you’d remember long after the credits rolled. Unfortunately they failed in that area pretty badly. Voice acting falls flat on several occasions and, more importantly, you just don’t care about the people you’re fighting with. There isn't enough development when it comes to your crew to establish working relationships, and when something does come up, it doesn’t feel like anything. Even the final event (which I won’t spoil here) ended abruptly because of a wonderfully placed Fuel-Rod Cannon shot.
I have to say that, visually, this game is astounding. From the game’s onset you can see how meticulous Bungie is when it comes to detail. The sun reflects off your pistol’s surface; Spartans and Covenant alike are superbly animated; the explosions and set-pieces are wonderfully put together. The much anticipated space battle is actually one of the best parts of the game and, as it turns out, one of the best-looking sections too. It’s all extremely striking and if you’ve ever played other Halo games there’s no comparison: Reach easily takes the prize for the best aesthetic. Hell, anything was better than the muddy, messy faces in ODST.
Any gamer with sensibility will be constantly firing up the multiplayer long after they’ve finished the story. Thankfully, Reach’s multiplayer is the best the series has seen. Bungie has overhauled and augmented just about everything you can think of when it comes to online play. The interface is extremely intuitive, allowing you to drop into friends’ games or even queue up to join in the next checkpoint of the campaign. You also earn credits based on how well you perform (well, actually, you earn credits for practically everything you do). Once you’ve accumulated enough you can enter the new armoury section, which allows you to purchase a variety of armour pieces to customize your Spartan. It’s pretty addictive and an excellent idea.
Firefight, Halo’s take on Horde mode, returns in Reach and has been beefed up from its rough implementation in ODST. Now you can enter matchmaking mode instead of being required to play with people you know. As an added bonus, you can also edit just about anything about the mode or even play preset modes like Gruntpocalypse. It’s pretty cool to jump in and play with your friends, but when it comes to matchmaking it’s an entirely different beast. Instead of having a set amount of lives, Firefight gives you unlimited lives and ends after one set, effectively breaking its entire purpose. It doesn’t matter if
XxSniperLordxX gets destroyed fifteen times in the game, you’re always going to win. Sound amazing? It sure isn’t.
Team Slayer, and Halo’s more competitive modes, remain the definitive reason why this game is worth its asking price. There’s nothing more satisfying than utilising Reach’s new armour abilities while performing incredible feats of strength. For instance, the new Armour Lock move allows you to become invulnerable, but also immobile, for a short period of time. However, if you time it right you can reflect missiles, destroy accelerating vehicles, or knock back that annoying sword dude. There are other abilities too such as the excellent Sprint and even a Jetpack to ride around with. You’ll actually find these abilities in the campaign but it’s pretty clear that they were all built with the multiplayer in mind.
New multiplayer options also mean new modes, so Invasion - the best of the bunch - is very welcome. Invasion is an assault/defend mission where you either take the side of the Spartans or Elites. Each has unique weapons and abilities to choose from and more options open up as the game unfolds. Unfortunately there are only two maps for Invasion, and with some of them being so huge it sometimes feels empty amidst the chaos.
One of my personal favorite things about Reach is the return of certain Halo 2 maps. Ascension (Pinnacle) and Ivory Tower (Reflection) were two of my most liked maps and both never saw a release in Halo 3. Even the ever-changing Blood Gulch (Hemorrhage) map makes its re-emergence here, but this time it’s in its original Halo: Combat Evolved form, which couldn’t be more awesome. Easily one of the most addictive features, Theater mode, is back allowing you to upload and share your insane shenanigans with your buddies once again. You can also experiment in Bungie’s refined Forge World map, which is enormous; and you can make all sorts of bizarre creations, maps, modes or whatever you feel the game is missing. If customisation is your thing than you’ll be pleased to know Reach allows it in huge quantities.
Bungie plays it safe with Reach, but for what it’s worth it really is the definitive Halo package. The multiplayer is fun, the gunplay has weight to it and features like the new armour abilities and Theater mode will easily keep your attention. It’s too bad that the lacklustre campaign, stagnant gameplay and small multiplayer annoyances affect the total package. It’s fine to take an “if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it” approach to something like Halo, but a player can only take so much before they require something more enticing.
7/10 [?]
Labels: 343 Studios, Andrew Whipple III, Bungie, Halo Reach, Microsoft, Review
- Andrew Whipple III
2001 - the year console shooters changed forever thanks to a little game called Halo: Combat Evolved.
2004 - the year online gaming on consoles exploded with Halo 2's stunning multiplayer.
2007 - the year Bungie redefined the word epic, and delivered the complete Halo package with Halo 3.
2009 - the year Bungie created one of the most addicting co-op experiences ever in Halo 3: ODST.
Now, it's 2010. Halo: Reach is the end of an era; a send-off for one of the most respected FPS developers in the industry as Bungie end their association with the Halo franchise and go off to work on something new for Activision. It's fitting, then, that that Halo: Reach is the Halo fan's dream game - an epic campaign, tonnes of multiplayer content and the same fun gameplay.
Now, whilst the multiplayer is what will keep people playing, the campaign is what Bungie have been pushing. The incredible amount of money spent by Microsoft on marketing this game with some truly stunning live action shorts has all been focused on one tagline: Remember Reach. Just the thought of fighting a battle that is destined to be lost against the Covenant in all their glory is probably enough to get a die hard Halo fan wet around the trousers, but what surprised me is how well the story was told. Last year's ODST was an interesting diversion which suffered because the one dude that everyone associates Halo with wasn't there: Master Chief. Heck, Cortana wasn't there either and it wasn't even set on a Halo. Whilst all those things ring true in Reach (although a few cameos are excellent fan service), the story is strong enough to keep even the casual fan engaged.
You take control of Noble 6 (who, for the first time, is your own customizable character rather than the set appearance of Master Chief or an ODST), the new member of the elite Spartan squad known as Noble team, as they are drafted in to help protect the human planet of Reach. Now, everyone knows how the story ends - the adverts told us as much - but the way in which you get to the end is full of some really cool plot points as well as some likeable characters and great fan service. Bungie have created a fantastic universe full of rich lore, and all their experience of telling stories within said universe comes to the fore in Reach. The Spartans are likeable, you get to know them far more than you got to know Master Chief over the course of the games (although admittedly none of them are nearly as badass), and like I said, the cameos from characters in prior games are handled well without being thrust into your face as if to say 'HEY! REMEMBER THIS GUY?!' The campaign's tone is spot on and is in great contrast to previous games in the series which were all about Master Chief kicking arse and saving the universe. Reach is solemn and depressing: just when Noble team think they've achieved a great victory, something happens that makes them think all hope is gone.
Whilst the story is very well done, I did have a few problems with the pacing of the campaign. Reach starts very slowly, and it took me a good two or three missions before I was really back into my stride and the missions became more interesting. The first few missions held your hand as you moved through fighting off dropship after dropship of Covenant with no real variety. From then on, though, the campaign really picked up and, whilst I don't think it quite reaches the epic scale of Halo 3, it gets pretty damn close. There are intense gun fights, large scale battles, vehicle segments, a space sequence, an anti-gravity fight scene and plenty else. Reach's core gameplay is spiced up a bit with new weapons and vehicles as you'd expect, but the stand out new gameplay mechanic is the armour abilities, including jetpacks, sprint, shields and more. These are available in all modes and really add a new level of strategy to the game.
However, the campaign does feel unbalanced, the first few missions drag on, the next five or so are brilliant and then it crawls towards the ending with a tedious final mission. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a very strong campaign and it took me over eight hours to complete on Heroic difficulty which is a pretty lengthy shooter, when you think that Modern Warfare 2 took me less than 6 hours on Veteran, and some people even less than that. Of course, with the usual four-player co-op (which finally supports matchmaking!) as well as the scoring and skull powerups, there's plenty of incentive to go through the campaign multiple times.
As well as the campaign, there is plenty else to sink your teeth into. The excellent Firefight mode from ODST returns and is just as addictive as ever. In my opinion it's definitely the best spin on the standard survival mode in any shooter, beating Left 4 Dead 2's Survival mode and Gears of War 2's Horde. The maps are well designed and all the armour abilities, weapons and even some vehicles cross over from the campaign as well. The big change in this mode from ODST is that you can now play as the Covenant. Whilst we eagerly await Beast Mode in Gears of War 3, Bungie has provided its own spin on this cool idea by allowing players to step into the shoes (do aliens wear shoes?) of the Covenant. Firefight is also expanded by the same awesome customisation options that you find in the multiplayer, allowing you to tweak the behaviour of your enemies and that sort of thing. Thankfully, Firefight now supports matchmaking as well, so if your friends aren't around you can jump in with some strangers. Sure, they might be pricks, but at least you can play some co-op, right? Overall, Firefight is far more interesting and feature rich than ODST's version of it.
Multiplayer has always been a massive part of Halo, and Reach delivers competitive online goodness in spades. There are tonnes of game types, plenty of maps and the ranking system has been given a much needed overhaul, putting it more in-line with Call of Duty. Of the new modes, Invasion is definitely the stand out. Unlike many of the game types, one team actually plays as Elites in Invasion, and they come with their own set of special moves. The Elites' objective is to assault a giant industrial complex, fight their way to the rear, steal a data core and take it to a waiting Phantom for removal from the area. The Spartans have a time limit in which to stop the Elites from advancing to each stage of the map. The Elites basically have to complete objectives to push the Spartans back and eventually capture the data core. Each time the Elites advance, more weapons and vehicles become available and the classes upgrade. It's really, really good.
The multiplayer can be taken even further with the Forge mode, which allows you to edit maps or create entirely new ones using Forge World, a huge open environment in which the only limit to your map-making creativity is your imagination. Like Halo 3, players are also able to create their own game types to play with friends, which can then be uploaded to their File Share space for others to download.
File Sharing also extends to the familiar Theater mode, which records all your recent exploits in all modes of Reach and allows you to edit clips and photos to show to your friends. These can also be uploaded to Bungie's website to show off to an even wider community.
Visually, this is by far the best Halo game yet. The game looks sharp and detailed, especially the character models, and some of the vistas are stunning. The epic scale of the war is also felt through some fantastic action sequences. This visual splendour has a downside though, in that the framerate can dip quite noticeably during cut scenes and also during gameplay. On the plus side, the cut scenes are real-time, meaning that your custom Noble 6 will look just as you want him to in all modes of the game. After the dated looking Halo 3 and the embarrassingly ugly ODST, it's good to see Reach update its graphics to stay competitive with the behemoths of Gears of War and Call of Duty.
As always, Martin O'Donnell's music score is brilliant. There are some familiar tracks which will send a shiver down your spine, but the new tracks do a great job of setting the tone. The voice acting is also impressive - in fact, it's arguably the best in the series.
Like I said at the start, Halo: Reach is the dream game for any Halo fan. It has everything you probably loved from prior games in the series, but it doesn't ever tread outside its comfort zone which in the end keeps it away from the legendary status that other games in the series have achieved. This is a great send-off for Bungie as developers of the Halo franchise, but when Microsoft takes over the series it might need to put its creative hat on; for all its brilliance, the Spartans are looking rusty.
9/10 [?]
Labels: 360, Bungie, Halo, Halo Reach, Microsoft, Review, Tom Acres, Xbox 360
- Unknown
Oh Halo, the hours and hours I've lost to your stupidly addicting online multiplayer. Halo: Combat Evolved on the PC had incredible multiplayer; Halo 2 was amazing on the Xbox; Halo 3 topped it; Halo Wars was surprisingly good; and I sunk many an hour into ODST's excellent Firefight mode. However, along came a game called Modern Warfare 2, quickly followed by Left 4 Dead 2 and an obsession with FIFA 10 that led to me rather neglecting my Halo games. Then, on May 3rd, Bungie dropped the multiplayer beta for Halo: Reach, and I was sucked right back in again for the 16 days it lasted.
Now, there are some pretty significant changes in terms of the way Halo works now. There's a class system for a start and they all have their own starting weapons and unique abilities such as a jetpack, invisibility, a dash move, a shield and some other neat and useful ones. The way these affect the gameplay is noticeable in all the game modes that were available (Slayer, Team Slayer, Free-For-All, Crazy Kings, Oddball, Capture the Flag, SWAT) but are most useful in the new game modes created for Reach.
First of all you've got Headhunter; a fast and frantic mode in which everyone in the game carries a flaming skull which they drop when they die. The other players have to collect the fallen skulls and take them to a capture point to score points. The points are constantly changing, and what makes it even more challenging is that the number of skulls you're carrying shows up above your Spartan, making you a more likely target for the opposition if they see you have a nice collection of skulls. I had 6 skulls at once one time. I died quite quickly.
Stockpile was the next available new mode, which tasks you with picking up neutral flags from all over the map and taking them back to your team's base. It's basically capture the flag on steroids, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. You can't use your class abilities whilst your carrying the flag, creating a challenging game mode, but making it a shame that you can't jetpack your way across the map, holding a flag aloft.
The final two modes are kickass to say the least; Generator Defence and Invasion. These are both setup as Spartan vs. Elites (you can't be an Elite at any time like in Halo 3; only for these modes) and each team has different weapons and abilities available to them. Elites can run faster at normal speed but Spartans can sprint; Elites can become invisible but Spartans have jetpacks; Elites can do rolypolys and dash but Spartans can power up a shield. It's perfecly balanced and both modes are great fun.
In Generator Defence, the Spartans are defending and the Elites are trying to destroy the generators. The Elites have to destroy all three generators within the allocated time, but the Spartans should be okay as long as they can save at least one generator.
Invasion is the real big daddy of the Reach multiplayer experience (unless Bungie announce something even better). The Elites' objective is to assault a giant industrial complex, fight their way to the rear, steal a data core and take it to a waiting Phantom for removal from the area. The Spartans have a time limit in which to stop the Elites from advancing to each stage of the map. The Elites basically have to complete objectives to push the Spartans back and eventually capture the data core. Each time the Elites advance, more weapons and vehicles become available and the classes upgrade. It's really, really good.
The base gameplay is very similar to Halo 3 but the abilities really push it up a few notches. What helps are the new weapons too; there are some really awesome new guns in Reach and there'll be plenty more in the full game. Some of my favourites from the beta were a Needler/sniper variant for the Elites, a grenade launcher for the Spartans and, best of all, a plasma grenade launcher for the Elites. Using that against a Warthog is ridiculously satisfying. Games seem more tactical than before too, thanks to the new modes and abilities. It feels like a nice mix between Call of Duty and Battlefield, which is no bad thing at all. Having said that, it doesn’t feel as viscerally brutal as rival shooters such as Modern Warfare 2. Instead, Halo Reach multiplayer plays like a peculiarly violent sport, perhaps a little like if Sky Sports decided to give tazers to all the players before Arsenal took on Chelsea.
Reach's matchmaking and menu systems are also upgraded to the extent that they're actually worth mentioning. It's incredibly easy to hook up with friends, with no need to enter the Xbox 360 dashboard: just nudge your analogue stick to the right and you get a list of all your friends online, represented by their custom-made Spartan. You can see what they're playing and invite them into a match as easily as pressing a button.
Speaking of custom Spartans, the feature has been expanded a little for Reach too. The new armour pieces are purely cosmetic, but there's more satisfaction in how you earn them compared to Halo 3. Master the new weapons and game modes and you’ll amass in-game points that can be traded for new bits of armour. Colours and emblems are also available. However, you cannot customise your Elite, but as you can only play as them in 2 modes (and you might not even play as them in these modes anyway) it wouldn't be a worthwhile feature if you were able to.
Graphically, the Reach beta was more impressive than Halo 3, but not quite by the massive margin that Bungie had led us to believe. Fair enough, it's a beta with a while until release, and it's multiplayer, so the single player will probably look better, but I was still a tad disappointed. Whilst the Spartan models looked really good, everything else was a bit bland and underpar. However, the sense of scale is something that I haven't seen online outside the Battlefield series and that was something especially impressive in the Invasion game mode.
By the time the beta was over, I was very impressed. The additions are really fantastic and, at the end of the day, it's still Halo and therefore still very fun. Of course, this is just a portion of the online multiplayer, and Bungie have shown hardly any of the campaign or the co-op. With four months for Bungie to polish and perfect, I'm confident that this could be the greatest Halo game yet.
Tom
Labels: 360, Beta, Beta Impressions, Bungie, Halo Reach, Microsoft, Tom Acres, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE
- Unknown
Ever since the release of Halo on the original Xbox, the Halo series has both set the bar and dominated the realm of console shooters. With the main story being wrapped up in 2007's Halo 3, series developed Bungie decided to created an offshoot to the franchise entitled Halo 3: ODST. Marketed as an extension to the Halo 3 experience, ODST puts the player in control of an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper (ODST) instead of the usual super soldier, Master Chief. When ODST was announced, it was first determined to be a straight up expansion to Halo 3, but through the course of its development, it has evolved into a full on retail package with its own multiplayer modes and campaign. However, the question is whether or not Bungie was once again successful in pleasing their die-hard fan base, or if they should have left the series with the closure it had.
ODST takes place during the events of Halo 2 and the beginning of Halo 3, in the Earth city of New Mombasa. The game kicks off with you taking the role of the rookie of an ODST squadron, barrelling toward the Earth in a pod with the rest of your squadron - hence "Orbital Drop". Upon impact though you are knocked unconscious for 6 hours and awake to find that it is already nightfall and the rest of your squad is nowhere to be found. You then take it upon yourself to find out what happened to the rest of the squad by exploring the open world streets of New Mombasa. By following waypoints marked on your minimap, you find objects such as a helmet and broken sniper rifle. These objects act as the start of a mission and once you find one, you are put into the shoes of one of your squad mates in a flashback scene. These flashbacks uncover story elements to help solve the mystery of what happened while you were asleep. The story in ODST is nothing special, but it is a series highpoint. The constant unravelling of story elements is incentive to keep players entrenched, and the flashback scenarios ensure that the levels are always varied from the last.
ODST is also a gorgeous game. Although it uses the same engine as Halo 3, a lot has been refined. The weapons have a shine that wasn't present before. Also, the character and enemy models look great. The biggest change in the graphics occurs in the environments however. From lush African wildlife settings, to claustrophobic cities,the world of ODST is breathtaking. The night-time environments also allow for the use of one of the games new features, the VISR. Short for Visual Intelligence System Reconnaissance, the VISR allows players to see in the dark. In addition to simple night vision, the VISR allows highlights important things in the environments; enemies in red, teammates in green, and clues in yellow. It's a helpful tool for dark fights, but brightness is increased which turns the screen almost entirely white if the VISR is used during the day.
Halo 3: ODST also comes packed with a second disc. Dubbed the multiplayer disc, it included the full multiplayer experience of Halo 3, including every downloadable map free of charge. This is one of the best multiplayer shooter games available to Xbox 360 owners, but many gamers will already own it if they were Halo fans to begin with. The extra maps are a good incentive to pick up the multiplayer again if you have been away from Halo for a while. Although it is a great competitive experience, the multiplayer disc feels like a last minute attempt to justify a full price on the package.
Labels: Bungie, Halo ODST, Microsoft, Review, Tyson, Tyson Breen
- Tyson Breen
Xbox and racing fans alike, I am pleased to present you with some new screenshots from Microsoft Game Studio's latest venture, Forza Motorsport 3. And, rest assured, you won't be left feeling short-changed.Due for release in October of this year, if all goes well, and at a very reasonable RRP of $59.99 (that'll be around the normal pricing mark in the UK), Forza 3 is looking very pretty indeed, and judging from the look of the new (and, indeed, older) screenshots, casual racers and hardcore gamers won't be disappointed in any way, as there seems to be a little of everything combined into what should be a fantastic little package of excellence.
But don't take my word for it; take a look at the images yourself. There's around forty in all, so it might take you a while to get through them, but it'll be worth it. Unless you hate racing and cars, in which case, it might not be.
Linford
Image Gallery: Forza Motorsport 3
Labels: 360, Forza Motorsport 3, Microsoft
- Linford Butler
The two worlds of gaming and anime are set to collide today, as “Halo Legends,” a new anime project backed by some of the top names in the industry, is presented at San Diego's Comic-Con event. The project is a series of short films that will incorporate many aspects of the Halo universe, including various settings and backgrounds that Halo fans will recognize.Halo Legends, which is being produced by Microsoft’s 343 Industries, represents a merging of two mediums that Halo development director Frank O’Connor commented is “a very rare opportunity for Microsoft.” Investing their talent will be studios that brought classic anime such as “The Animatrix” and “Cowboy Bebop” to home entertainment. Shinji Aramaki, the director responsible for the highly popular “Appleseed,” will be providing creative direction for Halo Legends.
“Halo and its characters are a very natural fit for anime,” said Aramaki. “As a fan of the Halo universe, it is an honour to work with Microsoft and my very talented peers from other studios to create this collection.”
Halo Legends will also help kick-start Microsoft’s new Xbox Live feature, “Halo Waypoint,” a hub for Halo news and exclusive content. Players will be able to watch limited time episode previews of Halo Legends through Waypoint this fall.
Although this will be the first time that the Halo franchise appears in anime, it’s been beyond its original video game medium before. The shooter series has also inspired action figures, Marvel comics and New York Times best-selling novels.
The televised debut of Halo Legends will be broadcasted at 12:30 AM ET/PT tonight on “GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley” on Spike TV.
Jacob
Labels: Anime, Halo, Jacob, Microsoft
- Anonymous
Some of the features offered by Microsoft's Project Natal, which caused such a raucous at E3 2009, are already in the PlayStation Eye - a statement dropped by Sony at this years Develop Conference.According to Sony, their R&D department has already developed facial recognition software for the PlayStation Eye, which can see the position and direction of a player's head and can work out the gender and age of the face, and detects different parts of the face including nose, mouth, eyes, eyebrows, shape of the mouth - and even glasses.
While Sony may not have realised the sort of public interest such software can cause until after E3 2009, they're keen to show that they're not out of the running just yet.
However, Microsoft is hard at work developing Natal's software, and admits that Natal may be used in offices on PC's in the future, and that it certainly isn't the only new hardware in the 360's future.
“We effectively reinvented the Xbox once already when we rewrote the dashboard,” Spencer says, “It’s not about trying to sell consumers a new piece of hardware at the wrong time, it’s about evolving the platform continuously. And we are going to find things, like Natal, that are hardware related to also do that," says Phil Spencer of Microsoft Game Studios in an interview with industry analytics MCV.
We instead want consumers and developers to know that we are all going to make a huge return on that original investment in the hardware… In the current climate that’s something people are going to appreciate much more.”
Whether or not Sony's advancements on the PlayStation Eye are enough to steer potential Natal users away from the Microsoft service is yet to see, but don't expect either of the technologies to be on the market until at least late 2010.
Linford
Labels: 360, Linford Butler, Microsoft, Natal, PlayStation Eye, PS3
- Linford Butler
On the off-chance you didn't know - GGTL will be liveblogging E3 09 on our E3 sister site: ggtlate3.blogspot.com. Go check it out later on when we will be covering Microsoft's press conference live at 6:20pm UK time.
Labels: E3 2009, Matthew, Matthew Meadows, Microsoft
- Anonymous
According to some sources, a handheld version of the much-loved Microsoft console might not be that far off.
Pictures appearing on gadget website T3 quickly caught the attention of many gamers, sprouting rumours about the possibility of a handheld in development.
The handheld, vaguely similar to the Microsoft Zune, has all the standard 360 buttons and also features the 360 'Guide' button familiar to current 360 owners.
The images also reveal a new menu system with video, image and music features, plus radio, community and - of course - games.
Of course, the images could be the product of some handy Photoshop user, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for this new piece of tech. You can click on the thumbnails below to view more images.
More as I get it.
Linford
Labels: 360, Handheld, Microsoft, Rumor, Zune
- Linford Butler
Fallout 3
-Has a Gears of War style 3rd person view as well as the FPS view we are used to seeing
-Mini-nuke part of weapon arsenal that looks very impressive
-100 + hours of gameplay
-Choice based game – much like Mass Effect
-360 has exclusive downloadable content
Resident Evil 5
-Online Co-op
-NOT 360 exclusive
-AI needs some work
-Co-op functions a little like Army of Two – but hopefully good
-Comes out March 13th 2009
Fable 2
-Teaser trailer shown – involves children, bad English accents and bird crap
-Great online co-op system shown, pop-in pop-out co-op
-Dynamic story/characters
-Can drink, marry, have kids (do it in real life!)
-Comes out October 2008 for 360 only
Gears of War 2
-Choppy frame-rate, might just have been poor video feed
-Human shields look effective
-Cheesy one-liners
-Can ride monsters
-Comes out November 7th 2008 for 360 only
Xbox Live
-“360 will sell more than PS3 worldwide”
-NBC/Universal content coming to video store
-New 360 update this Autumn
-Involves avatar system which can be dressed up, new party system – much like Playstation Home game launching
-Apple style menu system – very snazzy
-New Geometry Wars game announced, comes August for 360 only
-New Galaga re-make announced, comes August for 360 only (what the hell is Galaga)
-Portal: Still Alive announced for XBLA, exclusive map pack for 360 only
-Horrific sounding South Park game on the way
-New community games coming, opens up creative possibilities
-Netflix partners up with Microsoft for loads of new content without any charge other than your original Netflix subscription
-Watch TV at same time as other “party” members
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
-Both games looks a little too kid orientated, but still fun
Lips
-New 360 exclusive Singstar style game
-Motion control inside microphone?
-Can sing any song off Zune
Rock Band
-84 songs on disc
-20 + free DLC songs
-All original versions – no covers
Square Enix
-Infinite Undiscovery comes September 2nd 2008 for 360 only
-Last Remnant will come out November 20th 2008 for 360 and PC
-Some small Square-Enix project no-longer PS3 exclusive, I think it was called Final Fantasy 13 or something, comes on 360 at the same time as PS3.
Overall: It was a great day for 360 owners all around the world especially with Final Fantasy coming. I’m glad loads of new people will be introduced to such a special franchise. Sony and Nintendo will be holding press events in the coming days.
Matt
-Has a Gears of War style 3rd person view as well as the FPS view we are used to seeing
-Mini-nuke part of weapon arsenal that looks very impressive
-100 + hours of gameplay
-Choice based game – much like Mass Effect
-360 has exclusive downloadable content
Resident Evil 5
-Online Co-op
-NOT 360 exclusive
-AI needs some work
-Co-op functions a little like Army of Two – but hopefully good
-Comes out March 13th 2009
Fable 2
-Teaser trailer shown – involves children, bad English accents and bird crap
-Great online co-op system shown, pop-in pop-out co-op
-Dynamic story/characters
-Can drink, marry, have kids (do it in real life!)
-Comes out October 2008 for 360 only
Gears of War 2
-Choppy frame-rate, might just have been poor video feed
-Human shields look effective
-Cheesy one-liners
-Can ride monsters
-Comes out November 7th 2008 for 360 only
Xbox Live
-“360 will sell more than PS3 worldwide”
-NBC/Universal content coming to video store
-New 360 update this Autumn
-Involves avatar system which can be dressed up, new party system – much like Playstation Home game launching
-Apple style menu system – very snazzy
-New Geometry Wars game announced, comes August for 360 only
-New Galaga re-make announced, comes August for 360 only (what the hell is Galaga)
-Portal: Still Alive announced for XBLA, exclusive map pack for 360 only
-Horrific sounding South Park game on the way
-New community games coming, opens up creative possibilities
-Netflix partners up with Microsoft for loads of new content without any charge other than your original Netflix subscription
-Watch TV at same time as other “party” members
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
-Both games looks a little too kid orientated, but still fun
Lips
-New 360 exclusive Singstar style game
-Motion control inside microphone?
-Can sing any song off Zune
Rock Band
-84 songs on disc
-20 + free DLC songs
-All original versions – no covers
Square Enix
-Infinite Undiscovery comes September 2nd 2008 for 360 only
-Last Remnant will come out November 20th 2008 for 360 and PC
-Some small Square-Enix project no-longer PS3 exclusive, I think it was called Final Fantasy 13 or something, comes on 360 at the same time as PS3.
Overall: It was a great day for 360 owners all around the world especially with Final Fantasy coming. I’m glad loads of new people will be introduced to such a special franchise. Sony and Nintendo will be holding press events in the coming days.
Matt
Labels: E3, Keynore, Matthew, Matthew Meadows, Microsoft
- Anonymous
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