Well, it was announced the other day that Team Fortress 2 will now go free to play. If Valve handles this the right way, this could be great for the game and it's current community. I have been an avid TF2 player in the past. And while I enjoyed playing through the extra content that has been included in the last year or so with updates to the individual classes. The TF2 Fan deep inside of me is concerned about the F2P model for this type of game. I think I speak for everyone who enjoys online games, in that the last thing we need to fill our game servers with are the flamers who try to spoil the fun for everybody else, either by interfering with the flow of a match, or by a poor attitude.
Certainly you have bumped into someone like this if you have ever played a FPS game online. And with a F2P model it is much more likely this caliber of player will start to crowd the games. I hope I am terribly wrong about this, because TF2 is an awesome game. And with a title such as Team Fortress 2 being steered towards this route, it will be interesting to see what other titles may have to adapt to survive in the ever changing online game scene.
It seems almost as though every other month or so we hear word of another MMO going towards F2P. And I must admit, I have found a lot of fun can be had with a solid F2P title. So, we'll continue to watch these developments and see how things shape up for Valve.
The new site layout is live. Some aspects of the site may continue to change and develop over the course of the next couple of weeks. I'm looking to implement my video feed from YouTube, link to my eBay auctions, and other various improvements (and possibly some color changes) are all coming this way. Leave comments and let's see what everyone thinks. Enjoy!
The last several weeks have been pretty eventful in our house as far as my PS3 has been involved. And in a good way. As part of Sony's "Welcome Back" package I downloaded "Little Big Planet" and "inFamous". And yesterday I picked up the much anticipated "Duke Nukem Forever".
So what is my take on my recent game selections? "Little Big Planet" is a neat and addictive game. But it is obviously targeted more towards the casual game audience. Which is great for those times you just want to get a few minutes of gameplay squeezed into your busy life. I like how you can buddy up with other players and follow each other around to other "planets" and continue the game together. However, it is obvious that the developers of "Little Big Planet" are hoping their audience will shell out their hard earned cash for add-ons. Some of the most popular add-ons apparently being new skins and costume pieces for Sackboy. All in all, if you have young gamers in the house, this is the game for them.
"inFamous" was my second free selection once the Playstation Store came back online. And I must say that I am happy I picked this title. It's a fun take on the whole sandbox gameplay mechanic. The easiest way to describe it would be to think of "GTA" or "Saints Row" meets a newfound super human. You spend a lot of time bouncing around the city fighting the 'Reapers' (basically mutated junkies) and completing missions to discover your characters background and story. I would have actually paid for this game and I actually look forward to checking out it's sequel once I have completed this one. Did I mention you also get to control whether you play as an evil character or a good one...So many decisions.
And my most recent purchase is "Duke Nukem Forever". I'm actually not going to mention much about "DNF" in this post due to it needing it's own review in and of itself. In short, the game is awesome as long as you keep in mind the source material. If you ever played "Duke 3D" back in the day, you should be pleased. And by the way, if I read one more Twitter post or forum comment that reads:'this game is nothing like Duke 64 and therefore sucks' or 'Duke's first game which debuted on the n64 was way better, I want my money back'I will probably scream. And yes, those are some of the actual comments I have found on other sites in response to this game. For those less cultured in videogame history of legendary characters, Duke goes way back before the Nintendo 64 port and started out as a 2D platformer... Ok, enough of that, subject settled.
Look for my comprehensive review of "Duke Nukem Forever" to post in the next day or so. In the meantime look for Duke's demo on PC and Xbox 360 which was released this week for everybody.
Today I'll give a brief review of Riptide GP by Vector Unit. Riptide GP is specifically for Tegra 2 Android devices, which is unfortunate for non Tegra 2 users. I'm running this on my Acer Iconia a500 tablet and it rocks. The graphics are unbelievable for a mobile device. The water has amazing water physics and real-time reflections; which make for a gorgeous experience.
The game is on the Android Market listed at $6.99 and is worth every penny. For $6.99 what do you get:
-12 raceways/tracks
-6 jet skis
-Race, Hot Lap, and Championship modes
-Includes OpenFeint support for online scores and achievements.
I played for awhile last night and was blown away. The controls a pretty simple, you steer your racer/jet ski by tilting the device in either left and right directions. Once you go airborne swipe your thumbs in each corner to pull of trick moves. These moves usually require some big air to give you time to land them before crashing. Swiping your thumbs in different directions make your racer do different tricks, so don't be affraid to experiment with different combinations.
I cleared the first race class last night and felt that every track gives you something unique. Some tracks are longer and provide bigger jumps than others. It does kind of feel like they tried to stretch the existing tracks a little far, because once you clear the first few tracks the remaining tracks in that class are simply the first tracks with their layout reversed. Which at times actually allows for some pretty impressive stunts. If you have ever played any of the Hydro Thunder or Wave Race (N64) games, this is a similar experience.
In terms of gameplay and graphics I was blown away. The game is smooth and a blast to play. There is a free demo version in the market so I'd recommend trying it out first to see if you like it. It limits you to one jet ski and the first track. I tried it and immediately purchased it after clearing the first track a couple of times. In my opinion this is one of the best looking games (if not THE best looking game on the Android Market).
So it's E3 time again. And most recently some of the hottest news to roll out of the convention is the breaking details of Nintendo's newest console due out in 2012. The Wii U is their latest offering. So what is it exactly? I guess the easiest way to describe it would be a slicker looking version of the current Wii console.
So what's under the hood:
-Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i.
-Compatible with HDMI, Composite and S-video cables (yes, we are getting HDMI this time).
-Internal Flash Memory for storage, but will also support SD Cards and external USB Hard Drives.
-4 USB 2.0 slots and an IBM Multi Core Processor.
The console will of course use a new proprietary disc format for the Wii U games (still a 12 inch optical disc). But will also support the Wii disc format as well allowing for backwards compatibility for Wii games and peripherals. Not a bad idea.
One of the most notable features of the new Wii U is of course the controller. The Wii U will allow up to 4 Wii Remotes/Wii Remote Plus controllers to be used at a time. Nintendo is also keeping backwards compatibility for the previous Wii remotes (all remotes/classic controllers/nunchucks and Wii Balance Board) are compatible. However, the newest trick is the 'New Controller'. The 'New Controller' looks to incorporate all kinds of technologies: remember the Wii Speak accessory for voice chat, stylus (Nintendo DS), and a crazy looking controller (N64). It all sounds so familiar, but looks so new.
The 'New Controller' is essentially a tablet. Call this a gimmick or call it 'revolutionary' not so sure yet. I like the idea. However, it looks like a large, single screen, Nintendo DS. So what does it do?
The 'New Controller' contains:
-6.9 inch, 16:9 ratio touch screen
-Traditional D-Pad (on left side of screen) and A/B/X/Y (right side of the screen).
-2 Analog Circle Pads
-L/R and ZL/ZR buttons
-Microphone and Front Facing Camera
-Gyroscope and Accelerometer
-Stereo Speakers
-Sensor Strip
-Stylus and Rumble features
So basically it's a tablet with game controls built into it. Sounds kind of gimmicky to me. At least until I watch the release video. The release video shows a guy playing a Super Mario game on the tv. His friend walks into the room and makes a comment about watching some baseball and the player simply pauses the game, his friend turns on his baseball game broadcast and the player picks up his 'New Controller' which is now displaying the Super Mario game right where he left off.
They also show someone sketching a picture of Link using the stylus for those of you who are more artistically gifted. One of the neatest features I saw was the girl playing golf. She lays the 'New Controller' on the floor and stands over it with a Wii Remote. The camera looks down ontop of the 'New Controller' where you can see the golf ball sitting in the dirt. She swings the Wii Remote and hits the gof ball which seamlessly leaps from it's rest on the 'New Controller' screen and off into the games 'sky' on the television. You see the dirt cloud fly up on the 'New Controller' screen and it trails right onto the gameplay on the television. Pretty awesome.
They also highlight other uses for the 'New Controller' by teasing a Zelda game (which looks amazing), but it allows you to see Link's inventory screen and show video from the game on the controller. I can imagine developers will have endless possibilities of things they can use this other screen for. Hopefully to clear up some screen real estate on the television screen.
Some of the other features allow you to push video from the 'New Controller' to the television to show off video clips and some rather cumbersome looking web surfing. I can forsee the peripheral makers having a field day with this new control scheme. Especially when you walk through any major retail store now and see all sorts of plastic gun, shield, sword, and gold club attachments for the Wii Remote. I'm sure Nintendo will run with this much like they did with the Wii. My only fear is what the cost of one of these 'New Controller' units will cost the consumer. After all, if the 'New Controller' is outrageously expensive I foresee it having a slow adoption rate amongst potential customers. But if Nintendo can keep the price point down low enough, I'm sure they'll be riding the Wii coat tails even longer. On another note, Nintendo are you really going to name your newest controller the 'New Controller' at least get a little creative why not something catchy like the 'NintenTab' or 'Wii Universal Remote' or something.
So sit back and enjoy the release video, I know I did. And will continue to keep an eye on the Wii U's development in the near future. Happy Surfing!
*Wii U and all components therein are property of Nintendo.
With E3 going on there are no lack of great news stories to cover. I'll be trying to catch some of the more unique and buzzed trailers from online as they are released and showcase them here, so check back soon.
Inversion
The trailer for this game looks pretty crazy. Yes, it sounds a lot like the Inception theme, and yes it looks to borrow a lot of mind bending and landscape twisting effects used in the Inception movie. The craziest thing about this trailer is the use of cover mechanics. Check it out.
Halo 4
Yep, you read that right...Another Halo title. But seriously, was anybody surprised to see another Master Chief adventure? I wasn't, not really anyways. But it looks pretty sweet. I don't think there will be anything revolutionary about this episode into the Halo cannon, but hey...It's blowing crap up as Master Chief right?
Devil May Cry 5
It seems as though Dante/Devil May Cry has been a huge staple in the gaming world for several years now. It does look like the games design is taking somewhat of a different look. The games graphics look more stylized than they once did and the lead character looks pretty different as well. And it looks pretty 'Inceptiony' as well.
As promised this is the first of hopefully many Android reviews. Today we are looking at 'Cordy' by SilverTreeMedia. I first played this game at our local Best Buy a few months ago. It was loaded onto the Xoom that was on demo in the store. Immediately, I wanted this game. I recently picked up a Acer Iconia a500 tablet running Honeycomb, and this was the first game I downloaded.
It is free from the Google Android Market. After downloading you can enjoy the first 4 levels for free. Once you hit the 4th level you'll be prompted to buy the rest of the levels from within the game. It is only a few dollars (somewhere around $3 or $4 dollars). But it is money well spent.
'Cordy' is an extremely well put together game. I found it fun to replay levels; unlike many platformer games where you feel kind of forced to replay a previous level. I didn't experience that with this game. It was just as fun to run through a previous level as it was to discover a new one. The game is built on the Unity game engine, and can run on Android devices with at least the following hardware: -Android 2.2 (Froyo) -ARMv7 CPU -OpenGL ES 2.0
If you're device is rocking at least the above specs you are good to go.
The graphics are simply amazing, especially when you consider it is running on a mobile device. As mentioned above I run this game on my Acer Iconia a500 tablet and it runs perfect. My wife runs it on her HTC Evo 4G and it runs well. Very well infact. The only issue I've noticed when running it on the Evo is a slight lag which can catch you at a bad time when playing (usually when running around a corner when the whole game world has to rotate). Otherwise, it's great.
The controls are simple and for the most part they stay out of the way. On the Evo it feels a little more cramped, mostly due to the screen size. On the tablet, the buttons are large, but they aren't in the way while you're playing. You basically have one button to run left, and one button to run to the right. On the right side of the screen you have a jump button and an action button that allows you to charge up the exit hubs, swing, or grab depending on what the situation demands. Meanwhile, you'll run around the level collecting glowing orbs and gears. Once you collect enough of the glowing orbs to build up your battery meter, you can plug Cordy into an exit hub which will charge it up and activate the exit door. Then you can run to the next level. In later levels you actually get to swing around objects and even jump onto a springboard that will launch Cordy into the foreground or background to continue his adventure.
'Cordy' is a platformer/puzzler game at it's heart. All the while it dresses itself up with beautiful graphics and snappy gameplay. As you play you also unlock hats for Cordy to wear during his adventure. This game is a blast to play and doesn't cost a dime (at least for the first 4 levels). If you are a fan of simple, but fun games than 'Cordy' is a must have. 'Cordy' has been named as one of the 'Best Games on Android Market' and has been picked as an Editor's Choice title from the market as well.
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