Friday, August 29, 2008

Far Cry 2 Thoughts


I have had my eyes trained on Far Cry 2 for awhile. It was a game that I was incredibly excited for early on even when a console version hadn't been announced. when Ubisoft finally announced that Far Cry 2 would be coming to both major consoles, I was both excited and incredibly nervous. This is a game that looked like a game that might give Crysis a run for its money, but how would it run on a console? First, I want everyone to watch the this "trailer" from PAX to get an idea of the kinds of immersion that Ubisoft focused heavily on:


There are several things that have me incredibly excited about this game:

1.) Ubisoft's choice to switch environments from the bright, lush, jungle island to the seemingly dark, oppressive, visceral open Savannah's of Africa is a much needed change for the series.

2.) Its focus on realism and immersion with everything from weaponry to the weather and day/night cycle is exciting.

3.) VEHICLES! While cars don't get me all that excited, the ability to hang glide over an open world Africa or take a boat down the rivers has me drooling.

4.) And most of all, the game manages to still present a relatively simple but interesting story. The thought of hunting down an oppressive arms dealer (the Jackal) who is using Malaria vaccinations to maintain power is awesome and I hope it comes across well in this style of game.

Now for the question of how well it will run on consoles. Take a look at this video of the game running on an unspecified console and tell me if it still looks impressive. It may not have that extra layer of polish or detail that the PC version will obviously have, the game still looks incredible and will hopefully prove to be as fun to play as it is to watch.


On a side note, I may check out Far Cry for the Xbox 360 and give it a shot. I have a feeling that it will be very inferior to Far Cry 2 but why not.

-Nick

Fallout 3 Gameplay and Impressions - Part 3


The radio is fucking awesome in this game. I can't wait till they release the full soundtrack.

VATS is a necessity. I don't know why Bethesda keeps suggesting that real time action will be effective. Not even the game designer can hit shit with real time.

I'm really hoping for a variety in the equipment you can wear. The Oblivion armor options just seemed very limited.

The water looks nice but I'm a bit worried about everything they are saying about balancing health and radiation. Seems like it could be quit the hassle. I know this has been a part of the Fallout universe, but Bethesda is aiming for a wider audience this time, and this is a very hardcore micro managed feature.

CRAB BATTLE!!

Scorpion PWNT!


Brad

Fallout 3 Gameplay and Impressions - Part 2


Holy crap this town looks amazing. I was really worried about the diversity of a post-apocalyptic world, but this is fantastic looking. Bethesda really put a lot of detail into this world.

That man at the entrance is quite the jerk. The no hud conversation system is wonderful and the voice acting seems great. I love how he says "Fucking psycho wastelanders." Gives me goosebumps.

I like how you can zoom way out to an isometric view. Reminds me of the old Fallout games.

I notice that they have cut all the loading from these videos. I'm extremely curious about this, and hope David will report back on this specifically from PAX.

The females in this game don't actually look like men! OooOOoOoOooo!

The man in the hat looks very important. I even recognize the voice as someone important from Oblivion. Don't do it!! He's evil!

The "new quest" text is fucking awesome looking.

I need some of those smart pills.


More to come,

Brad

Fallout 3 Gameplay and Impressions - Part 1


First of all the game looks great, but I wish Bethesda would show more of the vault sequence from the beginning of the game. I've heard reports of these early parts from private viewings and it sounded very cool.

I'm getting very much an Oblivion vibe from the whole first part of the game, as it sounds like the vault portion of Fallout 3 will help determine what kind of play style you should use. It even has the last chance to change you character just like in Oblivion before you left the sewers.

The light effect when you emerge from the vault for the first time in your life is awesome. Kind of like coming out of the back exit of a movie theater into the mid day sun. The wide expanse of wasteland looks breathtaking, but I wonder if it will wear on the player. This isn't the beautiful forests, mountains, and rivers, we have become accustomed to from Bethesda's previous games.

Movement seems kinda weightless like in the Elder Scrolls games. I was hoping they would fix that. It sure as shit better feel heavy when I find some Power Armor.

The hud, menu system, and other interfaces seem very streamlined and easy to use. This is a step up from their previous games. The style of the menus seems to fit in the world better as well. I think Fallout 3 will be a lot more immersive than Elder Scrolls in this regard.

Robots yay!


Brad

Prince of Persia Development Diary

Check out this first Prince of Persia development diary that gives you a look at a brand new acrobatic move (roof run), an extended look at the combat, and a creepy glimpse at the voice acting studio. By creepy, I speak of the man screaming into the mic... check it out.



Still very excited.

-Nick

Yep, What he said....

It's game time fellas. It's 7:20, I'm all packed up. DS ready and charged. Check. Laptop. Check. Camera. Check. The doors don't open until 2 PM, but I've got to find some tickets before then.

I'm excited and there's only one way I can describe it.....


Yeah, He does it better than I do,
David

Oh, I forgot to mention last night. Seattle is full of diversity. It's a pretty equal mixture of all races. There's a lot more Asians than I'm used to in Austin. Diversity.....You know what that means, right? Lot's of cute girls.

Hello from the Past and Crazy Land

Here I am in Seattle. It's 11:36 PM I just got finished eating at Subway, which closes at midnight. Where I was listening in to the guy making the sub and the woman ordering the sub's conversation about Hilary Clinton and Martin Luther King, Jr. It's really weird here in Seattle. Everyone is nice, but I don't like it. There's this high brow snootyness that I just can't shake. I'm surrounded by people discussing where to go to get a good glass of wine. I really hope PAX tomorrow isn't the same way.

Anyways, here's what I'm looking forward to.

Day 1

The first day at PAX already seems like it’ll be an interesting one. The doors don’t open until 2 pm, but being that I don’t have a ticket, I don’t exactly know when to show up. Officially the “line” starts at 8 am. So either that means I’m going to have a lot of free time in the morning while waiting in line or well…nevermind….I’m going to have a lot of free time waiting.

I’m not completely unfamiliar with conventions, I’ve been to Akon a few times before, but I am a little unclear about how the Expo Halls will work. On Friday, PAX will run from 2 pm to 3 am, but the Halls I believe close at 7 pm. The one thing I’ve hated about conventions, there’s never enough time to do everything you want. A lot of panels are scheduled to overlap and with my experience with Akon, are cancelled or start late. I hope this is not the case tomorrow.

This looks to be my tentative schedule for my first day at Penny Arcade Expo…

[2:00-3:30] – Speed Run Showcase
[4:30-5:30] – PAX 2008 Keynote: Ken Levine
[6:30-7:30] – 1UP Yours Live
[7:30-8:30] – Video Games & Piracy: Issues for an Increasingly Complex World

Hopefully I’ll be able to squeeze in some Expo Hall times. These are just the panels I’m interested in attending.

The booths I’ll be looking to scope out are Nintendo, Valve, Sony, Sega, Udon, EA, and Microsoft.

I’ll probably be skipping the first nights concert as I am not a huge Freezepop fan, I am however curious to see the OneUps.

Look for updates all weekend,
David

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Some high quality 'Left 4 Dead' clips!





OH

EM

GEEE


Brad

Not just Pokemon Snap.


Afrika is actually looking pretty slick. My interest pretty much all hinges on how the animal AI reacts to the camera man. I want the animals to react how they would in the real world. I also want to be killed by a hippo. Did you know that hippos are by far the most dangerous animal in Africa? That's right kids; hippos kill more people every year than all other African animals combined. To them, we are just white plastic marbles.

Oh, and I hope I don't have to drive around for 20 minutes looking for a pride of lions. That's right, I know my animal clusters.

I find it funny that people seem much less interested in Afrika now that it is somewhat of a known quantity. This game good be big in appealing to the more casual PS3 owners who perhaps bought the game for its Blue Ray functionality. All those people who bought Planet Earth on BD might also lean towards picking this "game" up. I wonder if Sony is even going to bother pushing this game over here.

David and Nick picked up Endless Ocean, so I'm curious about how they feel about this game. Though I doubt petting is aloud.


Brad

New Comic Thursday

This week Juan makes his appearance into the comic for the first time thanks to icarus94. And thanks to Keyweez360' for his brilliant art and ability to capture Juan's likeness.

A Gesture of Confusion - (icarus94)

Check out the other viewer made comics too.

I'm probably on the plane to PAX right now,check back for impression,
David