Review: Battlefield: Bad Company 2
I’ll put this out there right now – I love the multiplayer. It hasn’t been since Counterstrike that I played a online multiplayer this much. Folks, that was about nine years ago. If you haven’t read my post about it, the tactics in the game are what I love. It’s not straight deathmatch where you go for the most kills (even though that is availale). You have objectives, and if you do them, you’re rewarded for it. Classes have advantages/disadvantages. Assault ain’t gonna’ destroy a tank, and Recon (using a sniper rifle) is terrible for close-range combat. Medics may have the highest bullet count, but their accuracy is terrible. Engineers can repair and destroy tanks (one-hit kills with anti-tank mines) but their guns are shit.
But, I don’t include multiplayer in my reviews because eventually, the multiplayer won’t be playable. I mean, having played Army of 2: The 40th day, there were only a couple hundred people on when I tried multiplayer. Yikes. So the single-player is ultimately what matters in my reviews because that’s what you’re left with when everyone has moved on. So is single-player as good as the multiplayer?
- The ability to destroy buildings may be in older games, but this was my first experience with it. Knock out all four sides of a building, and it collapses. I love the concept that your cover isn’t impenetrable. If someone knows you’re behind a wall, a simple grenade or rocket will take care of that.
- The AI in the game understands that, too. If they know you’re behind cover, they will destroy your cover. The difficulty in the game (even at its hardest) doesn’t feel as cheap as Modern Warfare 2 on Veteran. While they will immediately see you and can destroy your cover, you aren’t given a tiny window to kill them or be killed.
- My blogging brother (who I call that because we often comment on each others’ reviews) didn’t like the dialogue, but I liked the companionship that the four characters had. Modern Warfare lacked that – I never really felt like I was part of a team (save for a few spots) but having a consistent team was nice.
- It was also nice that they were useful. They didn’t just do blind fire, they actually were able to take out enemies that had me pinned down. I guess – overall – the AI in this game wasn’t too bad.
- One key thing to realize is that once you get a feel that exploration is open, then the game becomes much easier. You’re not limited to one path – many times there are alternate paths and buildings that you can run into. Helps to provide a temporary cover considering it can be gone in no time.
- There are lots of weapons – but there are also variations of them as well. But you have plenty to choose from. There’s a decent amount of stationery weapons as well.
- The storyline has been done a bit too much. Save America from Russians … I wonder how the Russians feel knowing that every big shooter these days involve them trying to attack the United States.
- At some points in the game, their requirements are a bit too much. I remember being on a moving helicopter a I had to shoot someone in another moving helicopter. If I didn’t do it quickly enough, I die – and this was even on normal mode.
- Outside of the vast landscapes you travel to, the graphics aren’t anything to write home about. Modern Warfare was able to run at a smooth 60fps in 1080p – I’m not sure why people still shoot for 30fps. Some say there isn’t a difference – but the difference is actually in how smooth the animations are. Even though it is a small difference, it is noticeable.
- I would have liked more air attacks … you have one UAV attack and that’s it. I would have liked to see more advanced gadgets since this is taking place in the present day. And while there’s an abundance of vehicles in multiplayer, there’s not that much in single-player.
Positive Points: 6 | Negative Points: 4 | Final Review: +2
Review: E3 2010
It’s a wrap! E3 2010 has come and passed. As someone who paid attention through RSS feeds, I can actually say I’m a bit tired from all the information. I’m sure my job will also appreciate me not being swayed into a specific article, opinion and trailer that seemed to be posted every 10 minutes.
This year, some people wanted to see the new technology, others wanted to see the games. I think every gamer got some information they wanted but those looking for new technology may feel a bit left out. And speaking as someone who isn’t really into new technology and peripherals.
I like that Sony and Nintendo didn’t sit on motion sensing technology. I think it’s because Nintendo has already claimed that department and they wanted to focus on 3D. I also think Sony is treating the new technologies as addons. It’s not that they don’t believe their products will take off, but they realize that it’s going to be made for some people, and others won’t want it. So they treat 3D and PSM (PlayStation Move) as peripherals. Microsoft, on the other hand, focused the majority of their presentation on Kinect, which makes me think they’re going to try to make it mainstream.
On that note, though, Kinect – to me – clearly seems to be the best motion-sensing technology out there. The PSM is a WiiMote – plain and simple. But what was shown at Microsoft’s conference was impressive. It’s just too bad I’m not willing to shell out $300+ for a console and Kinect. I also hope that the rumors of Kinect not working when someone is sitting down is false. Otherwise, that device is doomed from the start.
While I was disappointed that no real IPs were revealed … I loved the trailers for the games I did like – Assassin’s Creed, Twisted Metal, Medal of Honor and – of course – CastleVania: Lords of Shadow. Fans of Nintendo’s past will get a nice hit of nostalgia as a new Zelda was announced as well as a new Kirby, Kid Icarus, Metroid, Donkey Kong, etc. We’re also getting a Goldeneye “rerelease,” which doesn’t seem to be an actual rerelease – since it looks like they’re changing a decent chunk of the content. It’s a year of sequels, which is unfortunate, honestly. No companies are really taking a chance at new IPs, they’re just going with what they know worked. Games are becoming SO expensive to make that they’re going with formulas that they know will work.
I mean, games are costing at least $40 million to make/advertise! From a profit standpoint, do you want to risk all that investment in a new game that nobody has heard of? Or would you rather invest it in a game with a familiar title and lessen the risk? That’s why the future of disc-based games will most likely be sequels while new IPs will be limited to games on PSN/XBL/WiiWare. Okay, Sony and Microsoft may fund new IPs, but it’s to help bolster their system reputation. Companies like EA and Activision don’t really seem to be taking those chances.
The 3DS was a big draw – but honestly, I just DON’T see the benefit. I mean, is this 7-inch screen gonna’ pop out a bit? Is that what all the hub-bub is about? No thanks. I’ll be ready for 3D when I can watch it without glasses, without an optical trick on my eyes and it’s legitimate, 3D virtual reality. I mean, right now, 3D is simply a trick on your eyes. An optic illusion, if you will – which is why people eventually get headaches. In the long run, it’s not worth it. I’m not going to play a game in 3D for a few hours, then have a headache for the rest of the day because I was looking at something that was basically messing with my vision.
While the 3DS was impressive, the small screen isn’t going to sell it for me. I’m hoping next year (because Nintendo remakes the damn thing every year, it seems) they will have a DS that will mimic more of a mobile phone – something that can play music, video, store pictures, take pictures and be small enough to put into your pocket while keeping the focus on games.
The PlayStation Plus was announced. I really can’t compare it to XBL because I think their “Silver” status is the same as what PSN get already, but I like what they’re offering with the PS+. I also really like that they readjusted their pricing on it. It looks like Sony has finally adopted a “normal price” mentality rather than the insane pricing they used to do.
The biggest thing, I’ve noticed, is the branching that the Big 3 seem to be doing. This year, I noticed that Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have all taken a bit of a different step in what they were showing off. I think in the next few years, the Big 3 will all be in different positions – showing off different things. I think that Sony will stick to console gaming – they won’t change much. I think they realize there’s a group of people who still just want to sit down with a controller and play games. And they’re going to stick with trying to please those people.
Microsoft, however, will try to make Kinect a dominant part of the X-Box. Sure, many games will still require a controller but I bet that as Kinect advances more, they’ll try to push motion over controller input. Once the technology will be able to even recognize the flick of a finger – we may be in the Minority Report era for gaming.
Nintendo is going to split from console gaming. While the Wii is a success, the DS has been going strong since it’s original release while the Wii’s momentum has died down. Because Nintendo has a firm grasp on that mobile gaming market, they will try to capitalize on it as they progress. Can you imagine? Nintendo striking a deal with Verizon and having the a new model of the DS also being a cell phone? With 3D video conferencing? It seems like a longshot, but five years ago – the concept of watching video on a device thinner than our wallets was out-of-the-question. Today, you can record AND EDIT 720p video on these mobile devices.
All-in-all, I enjoyed E3. Even if it wasn’t terribly mind-blowing, it’s still fun to see. RSS feeds going off like crazy, new high-resolution trailers popping up, sequels to popular franchises being announced, etc. It’s the one time the video game industry is really buzzing with consistent news. It’s also the one week where EVERY company is expected to bring their A-Game. And in that sense, the gaming companies have to go all-out, or they may see a disappointing year coming.
I’ll be interested to see what E3 2011 brings.
E3 Impressions: Sony
This is the final of three posts I will be doing. I have already covered Microsoft and Nintendo. Mind you, this is just my opinion on what was announced. I’ll also note that both Sony’s and Nintendo’s post may be longer than Microsoft’s. This is actually because I didn’t know that the Microsoft event happened before E3 started, and I’m following a Liveblog as I type this.
The first thing we see is Killzone 3 in 3D. I’m still really on the fence about 3D gaming. On one hand, it is a logical step towards visual advancement – since graphics are getting so detailed, but I don’t like the fact that I either have to buy a 3D-HDTV or wear glasses. I’m also not a fan of the headaches I’m sure I’d get if I wore glasses that altered the way I’m seeing something. We’ll see though. Apparently, though, during the presentation, they showed a Mortal Kombat fatality in 3D. I’ll admit, that’s something I’ve always wanted to see!
Nintendo and Sony both had some “interference” with their motion controllers. It’s like the Windows 98 scenario (where it crashed during a presentation) where your focused product doesn’t work the way it’s intended. For Sony, it doesn’t help with the sale of the device if you’re having issues with it when literally showing it to the world. Microsoft’s no-issue presentation gives off the idea that Kinect is built really well while Nintendo and Sony’s device could be better.
What did surprise me was the price of the Move. Unlike Kinect, the PlayStation Move ranges from $50 to $100, depending on what accessories you want. Even given that you’re buying the controller, navigation controller and the PlayStation Eye, that’s not really a bad deal. The hook is that the PlayStation Eye is required, so no Eye means a guaranteed $100 buy (unless you get it cheap off the ‘net). It also gives me the idea that Sony really sees this as an additional peripheral while Microsoft is trying to make Kinect a focal point for the next year. It’s also the first time Sony’s product is cheaper than the competition!
Kevin Butler – I like him. That is all.
They say 70 new PSP games will be coming out by the end of the year. Doing the math, that’s roughly 12 games a month. I hope they pull through with it to get some steam on the PSP – but with the recent announcement of the 3DS, maybe they should let the PSP run its course and then stay out of the market. I think it’s safe to say that is heavily dominated by Nintendo and Apple.
PSN+, or PLayStation PLus is official. And Sony, THANK YOU for listening to the feedback and adjusting the price. $50/year is doable for a lot of people. Plus, you get the first three months free. Honestly, I’m pretty much sold on that idea. I think the first three months are free as well. So you get a “trial” run? I like the idea of free full games (ala PS3 Minis), beta access to demos and automatic patching. What I don’t like is the exclusive in-game content and DLC. I REALLY wish they would make it so that PlayStation Plus members get cheaper DLC (say, 75% off?) instead of locking it out completely, but it looks like that wasn’t the case.
It also looks like Sony struck a deal with EA while Microsoft struck a deal with Activision. While 360 owners will get DLC before Sony owners for the upcoming CoD for the next few years; those who buy the PS3 version of Medal of Honor (from EA) will get a re-release of Medal of Honor: Frontline. It looks like instead of taking shots at each other, Microsoft and Sony are striking deals with other companies.
Infamous 2 was shown – and while I like the series, I don’t like the direction they’re taking it. The only thing that is similar is that Cole has the power of electricity at his fingertips. Almost everything else has changed: His look, the city, his voice, etc. Remember how people had an issue when Maggie Gyllenhal played Rachel in the Dark Knight when Katie Holmes didn’t reprise the role? It wasn’t really her fault, but it made it hard to believe she was Rachel. It’s the same way to me with Infamous. This guy may be Cole, but his changed look, outfit and voice will make it hard for me to believe it.
Finally, Twisted Metal for the PS3. I’ll only say two words: FUCK YEAH!
And to wrap up my post – it’s a bit disappointing that ONE game is something that got me excited. Both Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony brought their A-Game (they had to … it was E3!) and nothing really jumped out – a lot of neat stuff, but I literally had an “Oh shit” moment once I realized the teaser was talking about Twisted Metal. Here’s a link to the teaser – I picked up on it 25 seconds in.
In the end, Sony’s conference was enjoyable, but I still think Nintendo stole the show, while Microsoft was probably the least impressive in my eyes.
With the Big 3′s conferences out of the way, all that’s left are the game companies. Look for a review of E3 overall early next week.
E3 Impressions: Nintendo
This is the second of three posts I will be doing. I will also be covering Sony tomorrow and have already covered Microsoft yesterday. Mind you, this is just my opinion on what was announced. I’ll also note that this, and Sony’s post may be longer than Microsoft’s. This is actually because I didn’t know that the Microsoft event happened before E3 started, and I’m following a Liveblog as I type this.
Right off the bat, a new Zelda game was announced. Had I not lost the Wii, this definitely would have been a game I would buy. I’m just a sucker for the Legend of Zelda series. It looks like they’ll be more precise in what you need to do when swinging your sword. An improvement over Twilight Princess’s “just move the Wiimote around” technique.
Nintendo has a Goldeneye re-release. While I’ll admit that I got chills hearing the 007 music and was hit with a nice dose of nostalgia, Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is a perfect example of how the past cannot be relived through a re-release. But one thing I really, really liked about Goldeneye is that as you upped your difficulty, not only did the enemies become a bit tougher, but you actually had MORE objectives to do, which required more exploration and enemies. I really wish games would do more of that. If this games goes multi-platform (and I expect it eventually will) I will still probably pick this game up.
Unfortunately, I’m not seeing anything really genuinely new in regards to the games they’re announcing. We have a new Zelda, Ninendogs/Cats, Dragon Quest, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby, and Mario game. But outside of the Disney game, everything involves something from a previous franchise. Nintendo is in an interesting scenario. On one hand, they try new things with peripherals. On the other hand, all their games are from stuff that came out years ago.
To Nintendo’s credit though, they are showing a lot of what I want to see. Microsoft showcased Kinect – Nintendo is showing off games. And since Nintendo has been under decent criticism over the past for years for not coming out with new games for the Wii, these slew of new games should delight any Nintendo Wii owner.
The big draw for Nintendo is the 3DS. First off, I must give Nintendo credit for once again going a route that nobody has really gone before. 3D has been/is being done, but 3D without glasses on a mobile device hasn’t. While the issue with the glasses is actually dependent on the screen, going mobile with it isn’t. But, I don’t see how that’s going to revolutionize anything because it’s still a 3.5-inch screen. I can’t help but think I won’t be immersed in it like I would be if I were seeing it in front of a big screen. All things considered though – it’s still an impressive device and. Plus, the Kid Icarus game that was showcased – that looked like a Wii game – was actually for the 3DS. This means that the graphics may be equal to the Gamecube/Wii.
It also sounds like the 3DS is getting a lot of third-party support. (Update: Here’s a full list, courtesy of Joystiq) That spells out good news for Nintendo and anyone who will be buying a 3DS. But honestly, Nintendo, enough with the new models … isn’t this the fifth DS to come out in five years? A new model every year? That’s a bit ridiculous.
All things considered though, I think Nintendo pleased a lot of their fans. A new 3D portable system and a lot of games announced. While they may be from older series, (with the Disney game being an exception, and Kid Icarus being the first in about 20 years) those who pine for nostalgia will love this conference but it’s unfortunate that we aren’t going to see any new franchises being made within the next year. In the end, though, I’d argue that Nintendo will most likely leave with the most positive reviews once E3 is over with.
If you’re actually following my E3 opinions, look for my thoughts on Sony tomorrow morning as well as a E3 review early next week.
E3 Impressions: Microsoft
This is the first of three posts I will be doing. I will also be covering Sony and Nintendo the night of their press conferences. Mind you, this is just my opinion on what was announced.
My concerns over this E3 appears to be valid because the central theme looks to be … motion-controls. Why this irritates me is because at the beginning of this generation, I believe both Microsoft and Sony claimed it was merely a gimmick and wouldn’t take off. Fast forward about three years, and Microsoft focuses 70% of their conference on Kinect, formerly known as Natal. It’s one thing to be ho-hum about it, mock it behind closed doors, but I believe they were quite open with saying that motion-controls wouldn’t take off and that Nintendo made a big mistake (despite the fact that Nintendo was dominating sales). I guess if you can’t beat them, join them. Too bad your credibility crumbles a bit (at least to me) when you do the very thing you mocked.
On that note, from what I saw – it was pretty neat. Not using a controller to move around the dashboard, as well as video chatting with other Microsoft devices. All pretty neat in their own right. But then we were shown some games that looked a lot like many of Nintendo’s games – Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. Luckily, third-party support seems to be a lot better than Ninendo’s, but I’m still disappointed that the majority of the conference was about Kinect. Because what this tells me is that the majority of the next year is going to float around Kinect. Sure, new games were announced – but when the majority of what you’re showing off is around one central device, chances are … that’s where the push is going to be. So for those of you who didn’t plan on getting Kinect, best shell out the $150 – because I think it’s going to become a dominant factor in the 360 in the next year. I’m also curious, since the device will acknowledge voice commands, does that mean the Kinect addon will always have to be on? Or is something required to tell the device to “listen for commands?”
They did showcase off a game that’s codenamed Kingdom. A game that is apparently all full-motion video … y’know, the technology from the PS1. Not saying it’s a bad thing at all, but I’m curious exactly which direction it’s going to go. The only thing I can think of is a Quick-Time-Event game. I’m not sure how they could pull off custom movement if it’s all recorded with real actors. If it works, great … otherwise …
At the end of the conference, they showcased off a new model of the 360. While the older models are $50 cheaper, these models keep the same price – so no price drop … and is now piano black with built in WiFi, has touch-sensitive buttons as well as other new features. Am I the only one that thinks this appears to be a blatant ripoff of the PS3? A commenter on Kotaku brought up a good point though – that it was good to see revisions of the current model instead of a brand new one. I’d rather take new versions of our current generation consoles rather than the NextBox or a PS4. I also like the number of USB ports on it – the ones on the back of the console would be great for an external hard drive. Still – It just seems like someone at Microsoft said, “Hey, we need our new model to look a bit more like the PS3.”
Unfortunately, what I took from the conference is that most of their stuff seems to be borrowed from Sony and Nintendo and nothing really original was shown. No doubt, the big steal is from Nintendo, but at least they were able to improve on it. However, for someone who isn’t terribly interested in motion-controls, I don’t see much that Microsoft brought that I found interesting. I enjoyed the CoD: Black Ops demo but outside of a few other games, everything revolved around Kinect.
And what do I, a non-360 owner take from it? I would think, “Okay, so to get the full experience out of my 360, I would need to buy a $300 X-Box and a $150 Kinect. I could not get Kinect, but they are obviously going full-throttle with it so I may miss out on some good games.”
Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’m expecting much different from Sony and I have no clue what Nintendo will focus on, outside of the 3DS.
For those of you who are interested in the Kinect – E3′s conference will be an enjoyable read with a lot of features covered. For someone who just wants some high-quality games and something new, you may end up disappointed when you find out most of the conference was all about something that was announced a year ago.
Review: ModNation Racers
- The game feels very polished, and the controls feel sturdy. The games’ overall presentation is fantastic in my opinion.
- The game has a fun feel to it and has a good comedic value to it. Good voice acting really helps it out too.
- Once you get used to it, the races can be extremely hectic and things can change in an instant. The races keep you on your toes. Weapons that seek you out can knock you out of a big lead you’re in if you don’t prepare for it. Unfortunately, the learning curve is a bit too high, which I’ll get into below.
- Customization is fantastic. Everything can be tailored in one way or another. They say, “If you can imagine it, you can create it.” I wouldn’t go that far, but you do have a huge list of options.
- Creating tracks is pretty simple once you get the basics down. Much better than her “Play. Create. Share” brother, Little Big Planet. (Yes, ModNation Racing is apparently a female in that family)
- Numerous shortcuts in each race help keep things interesting. You can stay on the road, or take a chance with shortcuts.
- With three achievements and some Rival challenges will have you returning to the career mode for awhile.
- A problem with those three achievements and Rival Challenges is that for almost all of them, you have to place first AND meet those requirements. Did you knock out three opponents on the big bridge but come in second? Too bad.
- The game’s load times are too long. The game requires a 3GB+ installation and then there’s an additional load time for every race you play. Had there been no install, that’d be understandable but there’s no reason to have to wait a minute to load a track. Uncharted 2 has a terribly long load when you start it up, but that’s pretty much the only loading that’s done in the single player campaign.
- You’ll probably feel overwhelmed when getting used to the game. You have to stay on the road, get enough powerups to attack your enemies, drift so that you can up your boost meter (which also allows you to shield yourself), get tokens, time when an enemy attack will hit you to shield yourself, avoid obstacles in the road, smack your opponent when they’re close to you, boost your way past the competition – and, of course, come in first. In some points it over-does it and you get “swamped,” but other races it works out quite nicely.
- The game seems to make a lot of “last minute cheap shots,” causing you to lose your place within the last half of the final lap. With online, it’s understandable, but when you’re fighting an AI, it can put you at a disadvantage. I can’t recall how many times I’ve won by 0:04 seconds.
Positive Points: 7 | Negative Points: 4 | Final Score: +3
