Chocolate Lemon » ExpertPenguin

Call of Battlefield: Modern Bore

ExpertPenguin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:00:10 +0000

With the release of Battlefield 3 already upon us and having time to settle, I am not filled with feelings of excitement, nor hatred. I cant really identify with any kind of feeling in particular aside from exasperation. Not at the fact that I’ve gotten military shooter this year as a part of this 2011 FPS gauntlet we’ve been running but at the fact that man, does it look a lot like Call of Duty campaign wise.

I’m not the only one who thinks so.

In fact, it’s such a strange shift in focus for a game that has stuck to its guns as long as Battlefield, the reactions are almost unanimous: in stark contrast to the multiplayer portion, it doesn’t feel or play anything like a Battlefield game.

Eurogamer reports that “EA has constructed a package that echoes its rival in so many ways it’s downright eerie.”

IGN describes the gulf in quality between the single and multiplayer modes as the game suffering an “identity crisis”

Destructoid says “If you’re a fan of single-player games, there’s nothing for you here.”

I hope it’s starting to sink in. The race for every military shooter to capture that Call of Duty “magic” is a fruitless one that continues to ensure that all our military FPS stories will have the same interchangeable, hollow campaigns lacking in substance.

Call of Duty hasn’t been an action packed history lesson for years, but they wisely ditched the format when WW2 was thoroughly mined. Changing the scope of the series from that to one more loosely based in our current events was a wise move on a creative and gameplay front, and gave them legs for something new. That something new worked in the original Modern Warfare But their success has literally become a blueprint for the modern FPS. If they are the trailblazers, people will start following their cues for a taste of their success, and oh are they.

(If you can’t tell which game this is at first glance, something’s wrong)

Wait for NPC B to kick in door A, terrorists pop up like cardboard cutouts, shoot, repeat until set-piece activates. While I appreciate EA going for Infinity Ward’s throat, they may have gone about it the wrong way by following what has become the lowest common denominator blueprint of FPS design. Since Modern Warfare 2, short, linear military rollercoaster rides with a heavy focus on multiplayer has been the consensus. The difference however between every other game adopting these bullet points and Call of Duty embracing them, is the fact that their multiplayer is so popular and nuanced that they can AFFORD to let the campaign deteriorate into this.

EVERYONE ELSE DOES NOT HAVE THAT CUSHION. While I don’t mind CoD jumping a multiplayer shark, everyone is attempting similar leaps now, and unsuccessfully at that. This means we have a bevy of failed attempts at this same slanted, rigid campaign/multiplayer focus instead of memorable, lasting experiences from franchises old and new. It means new creative ideas are being ditched, or compromised, or outright rejected for what works, like their method. It means a loss of identity. It means becoming a statistic.

It also means being forgotten while the major players who did get it right burn the genre to shreds by trying to reproduce their apex until they no longer can. The ones getting it wrong drive the nails further into the coffin.

I suppose the point I’m trying to make is, I’d rather watch Call of Duty topple under its own weight, with it’s own flaws, without dragging an entire genre down with it.

There’s still an opportunity to craft a story in a military shooter that can resonate viscerally because unlike shooting candy colored aliens, the threat of what’s presented here is more personally identifiable, if not always completely plausible. There’s a chance to create an exciting, tactical gauntlet that can test more than a player’s ability to aim down the sights. Elements like visuals, score, and an intensity of events that simply can’t be matched anywhere but in first-person because without an avatar to view constantly, immersion increases exponentially. Imagine all of this paced with intent, having a clear start and finish. Having the ability to stir and evoke emotions in players, and knowing they have been challenged by development team clever enough to do so is a power they are forgetting they have. Regardless of the success of their individual approaches, at least that’s exactly what they are, individual, and not yet another attempt to recreate another badass soldiering montage.

More Saving Private Ryan, less Pearl Harbor, moving forward please.

I’m speaking not just to DICE, but the rest of the developers on that one. If CoD has given up on campaign, that’s the competition’s space to make it better, and innovate. Not follow them mercilessly into the increasingly bleak and derivative popcorn hot-dog-on-a-string campaigns awash in brown hues, foreign countries and explosions. The time for distinction is now, while Battlefield 3 paints a by-the-numbers approach to this as a noticeable problem. I understand the nature of business first, but this is how you beat the competition.

Otherwise, soon you all won’t have a genre to compete in.

RAGE

ExpertPenguin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:00:10 +0000

The opening scene of RAGE shows an unexpectedly somber intro of the best and brightest of mankind collectively going into stasis as a large asteroid called the Apophis smashes into the earth with devastating effect. You wake up much, much later in an unspecified time post apocalypse, and the world is ravaged, a Mad Max 2 shadow of its former self with no recollection of who, or what you are until a resistance member named Dan Hagar breaks you out of your predicament. He needs you to join his cause, and fast. This new world’s strongest faction, named The Authority, doesn’t take kindly to people like you. They’re expanding their influence with each passing day, and are gathering “Ark Survivors” like you for an unknown purpose. But why? You’re soon to find out, and as you also come to realize, are an instrumental tool in stopping them before it’s too late.

RAGE (Review)
For: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Publisher: Nintendo
Price: $59.99 console, $49.99 PC
Release: 10/4/2011 (North America)

From that opening on, the game gradually introduces you to its concepts and the new world around you in a progressive, mission based fashion. You’re taught the importance of having a weapon and they become your initial focus, this helps you acclimate to the shooting mechanics early on. The wasteland, as you’re taught is vast and dangerous, so the necessity of owning a vehicle introduces you to the driving. Later, a racing league informs you of mods and upgrades you can apply to improve the. Even the earliest enemies are dangerous, leaving no room to misjudge just how perilous the world around you has become, and to prepare for what will surely be harder foes. Because many of the characters you meet are unable to fend for themselves in this hostile environment, It is true that more often than not, you’ll end up feeling like an errand boy, driving back and forth to deliver or pick up the most invisible and intangible of story driven items. However, what keeps RAGE’s numerous missions and sidequests from feeling like a chore is the fact that there is always something to be gained from taking each of them. It’s addictive and empowering at at the same time.

Later, you also gain the ability to engineer weapons, ammo, and items, and it’s then that the game’s RPG-style looting system makes perfect sense. Dead bandits and soldiers yield small amounts of cash and ammo, and the environment is host to a wealth of items that can be repurposed into other forms that aid to your survival. This proves to be an invaluable tool to your survival, as well as driving home the point that supplies and resources are limited and valuable in this future. The best thing about this system is the fact that it takes little time from the core game or forces players to memorize formulas. Each item needed for engineering is clearly laid out, and even tells you how many of an item you’ll be able to produce, a nice touch by the developer.

The weapon selection (not so) surprisingly plays it very safe, but what RAGE lacks in raw firepower, it makes up in versatility. The standard pistol, machine gun, shotgun load out is all too familiar to fans of the genre, but it’s the various ammo types that really give them their punch. Bullets for the pistol can be upgraded into higher-slug fanboys or multiple-shot killbursts, and buckshot can be upgraded to pierce armor. My personal favorites are the Pop Rockets, an ammo type that turns your shotgun into a grenade launcher, and the Killbursts, pistol rounds that scatter, creating a wall of bullets. Better still, they seem to be timed just perfectly in terms of unlocking; Just when I was getting tired of lining up buckshot, I was given a sniper rifle, and my strategies opened up.

It all feels great as well, because RAGE’s control is so spot on it demands special mention. Hands down, Rage ‘s control is so finely tuned you’ll forget you’re holding a gamepad at times. That, combined with the unwavering frame rate gives the game a fluidity and precision that most console shooters outside of CoD or Gears ever see. The weapons also all have a great feel, but If there’s any weak link in this otherwise perfect formula, it’s the melee combat. There’s a standout intangibility to it that just feels off, as foes react to bullets realistically, clutching limbs and stumbling under fire, but every gun butt, every punch in close quarters doesn’t have the same dramatic effect. Enemies however, have no problem knocking you around like a pinball with their strikes. More often than not, you’ll want to take enemies out quickly to avoid the awkward slap boxing match that will ensue if they get too close.

..and its now that I realize I’ve spent so much time describing RAGE’s gameplay that I haven’t touched upon the graphics yet.

Ill just come out and say it: if you find that while exploring this game you get a sense of deja vu, you wouldn’t be wrong–the game looks almost like every other end-of-the world game out there, especially Borderlands and Fallout. It only speaks of the game’s art direction and visual polish that keeps you from noticing this to ill effect. yes, you may have seen this game more than a few times this generation, but you haven’t quite seen it like this it’s an effect I only began to appreciate an hour or so in, and when it started, I couldn’t help but be continually impressed with each new area. The game has a muted yet varied use of color that really pulls off the look of a world in ruin, just realistic enough to communicate decay, but colorful enough so that the game isn’t one large brown landscape. When venturing out, the sky always looks amazing, the draw distance seems to stretch on forever, and the landscape, altogether an amalgam of desert, metropolis, and steampunk decay, always looks impressive to the eye. When indoors, some of the most dark, worn, and weathered beauty this side of Gears of War makes itself known.Color seems to drain from the screen, lighting becomes more harsh or subtle, and there’s seemingly history behind each bombed out pillar, each explosion and scorch mark.

It can be visually inconsistent at times, even with this great direction. At times, the game is the sharpest, most wonderful visual delight, other times, unsightly pop-in and the persistent blurry textures threaten to pull you out of what iD has achieved. The game is a technical marvel, to be sure, but seeing the shortcuts made at times to achieve that perfect 60fps can be unsettling. While there are an impressive range of effects coming together at this perfect frame rate, they vary in quality compared to other shooters. Some effects like the water are especially convincing, but others like the lighting, physics, explosions aren’t as complex as other shooters this gen. The world offers little in the way of interactivity as well, and even though there are a fair share of worthwhile distractions in each area, the world itself is essentially untouchable. This inability to make one’s own fun through sheer BSing with the mechanics in your spare time is a slight letdown. In the end, Its all for a good cause, because despite this, in a CoD kind of way, what the game does do right is look just right enough at such a high level that you can sense exactly what iD was going for, and it never falters, even under extreme stress. The loss of more complex particle effects or physics falls by the wayside when everything here comes together without a hitch, as opposed to more advanced shooters bearing inconsistent frame rates.

The final piece in this dystopian puzzle is the multiplayer, and it’s a bit of a mixed package, split between two modes.The first, titled Legends of the Wasteland, plays out like a series short stories indirectly related to the campaign. These short bite sized missions fill in small gaps in the story you didn’t know you cared about, from a drilling operation that led to Dan Hagar receiving his prized sniper rifle, to the (ahem) humble beginnings of Mutant Bash TV. The fact that they tie into the story is nice, but there’s a bit of missed potential in the way they’re told. If only the story teased in the loading screens and opening narration became more fleshed out as the levels played on, then it would actually carry some weight. As it is, it’s not a bad way to waste a few hours, and the fast paced shooting, along with a competitive scoring aspect that reeks a bit of Call of Rage, keeps things fun and interesting until the conclusion.

The same can’t be said for the Road Rage portion of the multiplayer. While there is initial fun to be had in the deathmatch style car combat on display in this mode, it wears out its welcome after several matches due to a limited weapon selection, even more limited vehicle selection (outside of appearances and slight handling differences, you’ll find it hard to tell them apart), and a lack of ambition. Where are the 4-8 player races? Not even a grand prix to speak of? At least a condensed version of the racing league offered in the campaign? The racing in RAGE has a great feel, with buggies and small cars that carry a convincing weight. Why such an excellent driving engine is being used for some Mario Kart-style balloon fighting is beyond me, and its more than a bit odd that this is what replaced even a standard FPS deathmatch mode, from the creators of the genre, to boot. Did this really warrant a full third disc in the 360 version?

RAGE is a game with demons in strange places. A large world, but no interactivity. A compelling setup, but middling storytelling. Some of the tightest FPS gameplay on console this side of Halo, yet old-school to a few faults. It’s good sides are constantly at odd with some eerily unevolved design choices, A feeling that I’m sure players will share as they tear through the wasteland, but that same sentiment can’t deny what a finely crafted game iD has produced. It’s gorgeous, feels much larger than it is, and is literally packed with things to do and see, punctuating its driving and exploration aspects with some very tight corridor shooting reminiscent of the company’s past. They may not have revolutionized the landscape like they were hinting in the game’s many previews, but what they did manage to do was create a game with scale, scope, and with any luck, a world worth revisiting with everything they’ve learned while creating this one.

Score: 8.0

Cross-Platform Differences

Much has been made of RAGE’s 22.1 gb install on 360, and if you have the space, undoubtedly, it’s the way you want to go. Load times are drastically improved, textures are cleaner, load faster with little pop-in, and the game has a much more pleasant sheen to it overall. Without it, the game is still a sight for sore eyes, but it also has the opposite of each point I just mentioned. The PlayStation 3 version visually looks somewhere between those extremes with a mandatory 8 gig install, and has lots of sharp high res textures strewn about, undoubtedly because of the extra storage space. A slightly more blurry look due to the engine (it drops resolution to keep the frame rate solid, more often on the PS3) combined with the blu-ray drive’s slower read speed can lead to some noticeable visual glitches. These are more nitpicking gripes than anything else however, and will only be noticeable to those looking for the difference. The cross platform work here, and getting both consoles to run with near complete parity can’t be ignored. Of course the PC version outclasses both, but doesn’t have the graphical tweaks you’d expect, which may be a disappointment for high fidelity nuts.

Ninjas Hiding From The Truth.

ExpertPenguin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 06:00:12 +0000

Ninja Gaiden 3 is in development, and it’s no secret to avid followers that this will be the first NG title to be an completely original development not based on a previous work. Though the action looked serviceable enough, and violent enough to satisfy, something seemed to be missing. Specifically, an over-the-top amount of violent payoff to match the on-screen action. When asked about whether they would be returning to the all too famous decapitations and dismemberment characteristic to the Ninja Gaiden series since its reboot back in 2004, This is what Team Ninja had to say about the matter:

“We don’t think people want to see that anymore,” they were reported as saying at Gamescom last week. “They’ve already seen it.”

Yeah right.

More like “We aren’t talented enough to have a full dismemberment system in place on both consoles.”

I’m seeing a pattern here. To this writer, it seems like excuses wrapped not in good intent, but in their own shortcomings as a developer, especially with their notoriously abrasive, yet perfectionistic leader gone. Let me explain.

Tech savvy gamers know for a fact that the 360 has a higher fill rate than the PS3. In terms everyone can understand, this means it has an ability to display more polygons on screen at any given time. In terms of Ninja Gaiden, specifically it’s sequel, it meant they were able to have a fantastic gore/dismemberment system in place that even occasionally compromised the game’s otherwise rock solid framerate, slowing things down when there were simply too many bits and pieces flying about.

It’s my theory that this system, one that bogged down the 360 at times, was just about impossible to port over to the PS3. While it’s a trial indeed to port over (and in some cases, upgrade) the vast majority of the game’s assets intact, that wasn’t the difficult part. The most difficult part would be getting that gore under control on the PS3…and they couldn’t. They dropped the ball, and gave an excuse.

“Each game has its own concept and with Ninja Gaiden 2, the focus was on extreme violence. But with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, we really questioned whether violence is a necessity for a game, so we decided to move away from that trend. So the violence ‘approach’ is not the way we approached the development of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Being able to unlock higher levels of gore would be out of kilter with the concept of the game.”

Motion controlled breasts were not, however.Remarkably similar, no? The quality of Team Ninja’s games have been in decline ever since Itagaki left, and Yuusuke Hayashi keeps proving time and time again that he cannot uphold that standard since his departure, instead masking his shortcomings in tired excuses like this. I heard nothing of this in the original Ninja Gaiden port, which had the decapitations intact and took the time to improve visually…but the source material was from the last generation of hardware. The second game takes advantage of a specific next gen hardware advantage and has that specific feature cut. The third game is multiplatform out of the gate and has every aspect cut. That can’t be coincidence.

The funny thing is, while he may be fooling anyone else blind enough to accept that tripe, this was all to familiar to the MGS2 debacle on the Xbox, one that is all too familiar.

Last generation, a perfect example of this was Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance on the original Xbox. Being a port of the original MGS2: Sons of Liberty on the PS2, the game was specifically designed to take advantage of the system’s strengths, most notably the console’s fill rate to create the still amazing to this day rainstorm in the tanker chapter. When this game was ported to the Xbox, the textures were better, the sound was better, and overall the game had a much cleaner look. However, the rainstorm was a bit too much for the system’s architecture (particles, natch), and what was a perfectly smooth experience on the PS2 turned into a slow motion spectacle worthy of Zack Snyder on the Xbox, turning every scene outside the ship into a slideshow. Was it the Xbox’s fault? No, it was more Kojima Productions’ doing by not optimizing the game on different hardware, deciding that it would be easier to just dump it on the Xbox intact and let the chips fall where they may.

This is exactly what I feel is going on here, except instead of leaving the original game concept intact come hell or high water, they’re instead omitting aspects of the game, leaving the fans to stare and shake their heads in bewilderment every time a new statement like that comes out. Yes, Ninja Gaiden is a great action game, but part of that enoyment comes from the visceral action, and yes, later on, the absurd amount of gore that came as a result. Omitting those aspects (using us as an excuse no less) is only going to hurt them in the long run, because as far as I can see, the God of War series is still going pretty strong, and Kratos has never run into an enemy face unworthy of evisceration. Imagine if Sony Santa Monica said they were cutting the gore from the PSP version of God of War, stating that it was time to tell a more “mature” tale for a different audience unfamiliar with Kratos. You’d think they were full of shit, right?

Exactly.

Follow Chocolate Lemon via Social Networking

Jason V. — Mon, 09 May 2011 05:00:06 +0000

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Crying Wolf – DJ Hero 2 Ultra Records Mix Pack Review

ExpertPenguin — Mon, 02 May 2011 05:00:24 +0000

Well, don’t I feel like a conspiracy theorist.

Far from running around for several months declaring the not-so-harmonious death of my favorite music franchise several times over,I truly believed that the last pack (that in itself the last-last pack) was all there was, and after completing the slightly underwhelming last (last) one, I packed my turntable away, and lost myself in a sea of FPS games. Imagine my surprise when news of this seemingly random mix pack found it’s way into my mailbox. Done? Bug-eyed much?

Now imagine my amazement when the words Deadmau5, Benny Benassi and Yolanda Be Cool crossed my eyes.

Oh, I’m done declaring this series dead. Yes I am.

DJ Hero 2 “Ultra Mix Pack” (Downloadable Content)
For: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii (Songs sold as individual tracks)
Publisher: Activision/Freestyle Games
Price: 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 PSN, 300 Wii points (per track)
Release: 4/19/2011
Reviewed on Expert difficulty; Individual songs on a 1-5 point scale, overall is by 10 and not an average.

Benny Benassi – House Music

As it stands, House Music was already a deep, bass heavy song, but FSG apparently wasn’t satisfied with completely buzzing your ears off with one of BB’s finest. No, I’m pretty sure they wanted to make your head explode with a high-tier track. It was a SUCCESS, with their manic style complimenting this already up tempo track with a range of effects that make it sound like it received a shot of adrenaline. It’s all deep lows and piercing effects here, with a challenging, tap heavy chart that has its scratches and samples paced just right to lend a feeling of control over the beat. Even the scratchdown>tap pattern from “Sexy Chick” makes a return here, and it managed to throw me off when it came back at me in reverse. Excellent, excellent track to kick things off, and I don’t say it lightly. It captured the energy of the original perfectly, and only changed things slightly to make it distinct as a DJH mix. Believe that I couldn’t stop myself from dancing in my seat.

Rating: 5/5

Deadmau5 – Sofi Needs A Ladder

Deadmau5 and Sofi’s affair first graced my ears in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and the fandom carried over into the (awesome) album 4×4=12, so I practically decided while downloading this DLC that it would be my favorite song in the pack. The sad truth is that, it is not. This however, does not mean it’s bad. It’s an oddly reverse take on the original, in that it starts out slow with lyrics from the END of the song, and then incorporates the rest about 2/3rds through for a better paced finish. While this change really affects how the song sounds and feels (and it does feel odd if you’re used to the original), it’s still undeniably Deadmau5. Call me crazy, but FSG must know that he’s an avid gamer, because this is a pretty challenging track that actually had my fingers cramping a bit midway through. At the end of the day however, it’s a good track, but not the great one I was expecting. I also can’t shake the feeling that it seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to mess with Sofi’s lyrics as well. Listening to her call out her addiction in metaphors in the original seemed ripe for mixing, but even if they weren’t feeling creative enough for the entire song, having them intact would’ve been better than cutting most of them out, similar to the way “Move for Me” was charted. I feel like it’s the one thing holding this track from the greatness it should’ve been.

Rating: 3/5

Yolanda Be Cool – We Speak No Americano

Fun fun fun. This track, whose band doubles as a Pulp Fiction reference (trivia!) has much going for it, already sampling the humorous song Tu vuò fà l’americano. As a result, it has a nutty, goofy feel to it, with samples in all the right places and enough mixed challenge to keep you guessing. The various ways FSG has managed to keep this game tricky is impressive, and I don’t know who can hit that series of taps/scratches without spraining something, but power to them. As good as I am, I’m pretty sure I broke something on my first attempt. Don’t let this ward you off though, because the song is so much fun that it becomes irrelevant about halfway through. I had fun with this one, and I love the sound they came up with for it. As I mentioned about House Music earlier, this is an example of a remix shaking things up enough to make it different from the original, with just enough flavor to keep it familiar. Kudos.

Rating:5/5

This is prime. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say FSG is pulling out all the stops, making a case for DJ Hero’s continued existence with an outburst of talent and wit. The in-game “hero feed” says that this is the final DLC pack for the game. Excuse me if I have trouble believing that after hearing it so many times before. I have faith in them. Ten DLC packs spanning twenty-nine songs later, I’m still on board, and I’m still dancing to what I consider one of the best game soundtracks ever. Anyone listening to this music and deciding the series needs to close is outright insane. There couldn’t be a stronger case for this to go on.

Rating: 9.0

DJ Hero: Domination Mix Pack Review

ExpertPenguin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:20:02 +0000

DJ Hero Domination Mix Pack (Add-On Content)
For: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii (PSN Release : May 11)
Price: 640 MS Points, 300 Wii Points, $7.99 Playstation Network
Released 4/29/2009

Color me surprised when Freestyle Games and Activision announced that there would be ANOTHER DJ Hero content pack released this month! After the stellar Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack released in March, I was more than sated. Sure, the game doesn’t exactly have a Rock Band level of DLC saturation, but the fact that Activision continues to support the game, despite the steep price and despite the (typical for a new IP) sales numbers, they keep putting them out. So far, they’ve been of an extremely high quality, not only in the choice of songs themselves, but in the amazing ways they’ve been arranged, and the technique required to master them. But does the newly released Domination pack keep up the tradition of unique, unconventional gameplay that DJ Hero is known for, or is it finally time for their first DLC disaster?

For starters, it’s clear why they’ve called this the “Domination” pack, because of each of the three mixes; Beat juggles (arranged versions) of Red Mist VIP (Danny Byrd), and Wolfgang’s 5th Symphony (Wolfgang Garter), and a mashup of Sandstorm (Darude) vs. Higher State of Consciousness (Josh Wink) are what’s being served, and they’re all going to kick your ass. Each song in this pack hosts not only a daunting length, but they all use just about every advanced technique in the game in some fashion to create a pack obviously tailored towards people who think they’re the shit in this game. You’ll be humbled by the time you’re done, trust me.

Now to the mixes! (Ratings for each mix are out of 5, and were played on Expert difficulty.)

Red Mist VIP is the first of three mixes, a DnB/Hip-Hop song that starts off slow, gets more challenging with a tempo increase, then slows down again. It’s almost like an introduction to the patterns you’ll experience for the rest of the pack in terms of difficulty, like scratching amidst crossfade spikes(!!) and stretches of 2 to 3 button simultaneous taps . While it’s almost completely unexciting as a mix (personally, I think it sounds too close to the original), gameplay wise, it’s an above average challenge that’s good for a warmup, or even honing technique. (Rating: 3/5)

Wolfgang Gartier’s 5th Symphony ditches the easy introduction and immediately kicks off with frenzied crossfading and rhythmic scratching eerily reminiscent of the Groundhog (Noisia) beat juggle from the climax setlist of the original game. Hard hitting and bombastic, it’s a very technical song that starts off slowly, just like the original, then completely descends into a madness that’ll have you employing every technique in the game to great effect. Unpredictable crossfades, spikes, changes in tempo, believe me when I say this song had it all, and then some, It also holds the honor of being the first DLC song I didn’t 5 star on a sightread, because it was just TOO MUCH, especially during the last 1/3 of the song. Easily the hardest song in the pack, and one that’ll even have the most seasoned of players break a sweat. (Rating: 5/5)

The crown jewel in this pack however, is a high energy, thumping mashup of Sandstorm and Higher State of Consciousness. Aside from being a GREAT listen (I really had to stop myself from moving my shoulders, it was messing me up!), it’s also a blast to play as well. It nails that perfect balance of scratching and crossfading that forces a rhythm into your hands that soon spreads to your entire body. Well placed taps, rapid multiple button scratches in succession, and minimal use of samples make for a song that not only sounds great, but feels great as well. Anyone whose ever played Paper Planes vs. Looking At Me from the original knows exactly what I mean by this. When balanced right, a song can feel so intuitive that the direction of scratches and switches are irrelevant because you’re already moving to the beat on your own. This is it. (Rating: 5/5)

As a whole, I was very satisfied with the DJ Hero Domination Pack. The mixes are challenging, well laid out, and the fans that have been clamoring for more House/DnB in the game will be happy as well. If you’re an advanced DJ Hero fan who cannot wait for the sequel to get his fix, then this content is a no brainer for you. Intermediate players may want to think twice before jumping in, though lowering the difficulty does (and will) make the experience less of a trip through DJing hell. If you’ve fallen off the wagon and have grown tired, this may not win you back, as it’s more of the same, but with elevated difficulty. I must say though, the mixes are extremely well done, and I can only hope that Freestyle continues to raise the bar even higher moving forward. To answer my question from earlier; it most certainly does keep up the series tradition of great music and unique gameplay.

Rating: 9.5

In Defense Of Infinity Ward..

ExpertPenguin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:36:16 +0000

So Infinity Ward has been hemorrhaging employees for the past month or so, and it’s something that not only makes me wonder about the future of Call of Duty, but more importantly, what’s to become of Infinity Ward themselves. Chewing through the constant name calling, litigation, and drama over the past two weeks, the fact is that not only has the renowned studio lost its co-founders, but it has also lost a suite of other employees, including but not limited to a number of its key designers, animators, artists, and programmers, many of who had been with the company for a number of years.

In short, and to provide a hyperbolic statement, a great deal of the talent that made the CoD series what it was over the past 9 or so years is gone.

Which is strange, because I don’t think ANYONE saw this coming. Generally, in gaming, we watch the rise and fall of many a franchise, and a developer buckling under the pressure of their publisher/owner is nothing new. After all, we watched Halo experience lapses in quality while Bungie worked directly under Microsoft, and the same happened to the Call of Duty series after the success of the second game. However, the way Infinity Ward consistently put out great content, I never would’ve thought there was an undercurrent of dissent brewing.

Then again, how could there NOT have been? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

It’s bad enough that the studio had to deal with Activision’s policies. CoD being as popular as it was, meant it had to fall into the Activision business model of releasing one every year. But, we would’ve thought that the fact that developer Treyarch had to bear the burden would be the end of it. I mean, I did. As long as IW didn’t have to spread themselves thin annually and could continue making a great product, I had no problem buying a CoD every other year, and avoiding the inevitable mobile/handheld versions. It seemed like a nice arrangement, but of course, as is the case with Activision, that simply isn’t enough. I mean, why have a bi-annual series capable of garnering over 310 million in sales in a single day when you can poach it to high hell and destroy consumer faith in the brand?

It’s a good question to ask, because reportedly, Activision is planning for a Call of Duty MMO, is currently considering premium, subscription based pricing for CoD’s multiplayer, and then there’s the the “3rd person action title” in development under the CoD name by their new studio Sledgehammer Games, set to release at an unspecified date. That’s a lot of ambitious plans for a franchise, and they all leave an especially sour taste considering that they didn’t even come from the mouths of anyone who actually developed the game.

When thought about carefully, can you really blame Jason West and Frank Zampella for wanting creative control of their award winning franchise back? If this writer didn’t know any better, I’d say they sensed a destruction of their franchise similar to what Activision managed to do to Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero. I saw it coming the minute IW tried to distance themselves from the CoD brand by simply calling the title “Modern Warfare 2”. They were aware of the wildly fluctuating level of quality between titles, and didn’t want their work to be lumped in, or confused with Treyarch’s. As you can see, it didn’t eactly work out as planned, and the Call of Dutybrand was slapped onto MW2 regardless. But anyone paying at least a little bit of attention could see that things are getting a little out of control with the brand, overpriced DLC not withstanding.

So the fact that the two founders were meeting with other publishers does not surprise me. The fact that they’re trying to retain some control of the “Modern Warfare” brand in addition to unpaid royalties for Modern Warfare 2 with their lawsuit does not surprise me. If you’re no longer in a position where you can decide the fate of your creation, AND you aren’t being compensated fully for your hard work, isn’t it about time to leave? The truth of the matter is, Call of Duty has grown too large for creative sentiment, and now, it solely speaks to corporate whim. I know I’m not the only one that thinks MW2′s lack of multiplayer features on PC (dedicated servers, lean, console, mods, etc) was a decision imposed on them and not one they personally made. In fact, I’m pretty sure that splitting their fanbase and starting a mini-internet uprising against their highly anticipated follow-up title wasn’t in the original design specs.

Now they’re gone, and honestly, it’s a shame that this even had to happen at all. When Microsoft realized that Bungie was about to eat itself away from the inside due to the burden of their acquisition, they backed off. Microsoft owns Halo and could’ve said good riddance, but they knew there couldn’t be Halo without Bungie. So they gave them their independence. These two were forced to take it. Now they’ve formed a new studio (with EA of all people!) called Respawn Entertainment, with the added bonus of retaining control of any intellectual property they create. No one really knows where the other defectors of Infinity Ward have gone, but it’d be hard to imagine that they aren’t going to be signing up with them at some point in the future. I hope they do, because I know they’re going to make some amazing games, FPS or otherwise.

Activision may not be worried about the future of Call of Duty in light of this, as they still have 90 or so members of the team left, but they ought to be. I’m sure that all the remaining members are very talented, but arrogance that Call of Duty can survive without the key people who made it great was a hubris they committed when they made the mistake of separating Harmonix from Guitar Hero. Treyarch in my opinion can barely hold the mantle of CoD without riding on IW’s innovations, and if rumors that about the next game can be believed, they’re going back to Vietnam, and subsequently, the crutch of WW2 (groan) for the next installment. While there isn’t any doubt in my mind that Call of Duty is going to keep making Activision money regardless (my baffled reaction to the masses that enjoy World at War outside of Nazi Zombies still stands), to see them lose a great deal of that established userbase to EA and Respawn would put a smile on my face. Think about that, it’s the year 2010, and I’m rooting for EA, while Activision seems to now be in control of that Death Star hovering over the industry.

My, how times have changed.

Gears of War 3 Premiere Trailer!

ExpertPenguin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:23:32 +0000

That is a female COG soldier. End statement.

Sera looks to be in complete ruin. Ashes cover the city, the remaining few silhouettes of it’s populace match the surroundings. Dom has a beard. Their suits seem to have undergone a bit of a redesign, apparently everyone’s as confident as Cole now.

Or they can’t afford to be bulky anymore, what with new gorgon-esque Locust running around.

They’re all fighting together. Marcus, Cole, Baird, Dom, and this new mystery woman. Glad to see everyone’s around. Brothers to the end. Heh..

Wait, you’re still reading this? C’mon. This is Gears of War 3 we’re talking about here. Click play already!

(Guess the Late Show’s good for SOMETHING after Conan’s departure, eh? Who’s excited?!)

Hindsight: Bioshock 2

ExpertPenguin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 12:56:08 +0000

Originally I was one of those people who didn’t welcome Bioshock 2 with open arms. I wondered why the game even existed, why it needed multiplayer, and most importantly, why anyone thought it’d be a good idea to have us as gamers revisit Rapture a second time around. I’d personally felt that what added to the infinite wonder that was Rapture was contrast to how finite the reality was; Even though you become swept up in discovering a new world, the presence of your objective and the rapidly deteriorating surroundings meant the experience wouldn’t last. To me, it meant the experience was one to be savored. And savor it I did.

A preemptive run of the original game a week before release reaffirmed this sentiment in my mind. What reason was there to return to Rapture, at all? At its conclusion, it didn’t seem like Rapture would last another 10 days. Let alone another 10 years.

[[[ SPOILERS abound from here on out. I may seem to be selective in the details I go into, but trust me when I say reading this will ruin Bioshock 2's story for you if you have yet to experience it. ]]]

So through my second tour of Rapture I was a bit…skeptical, to say the least. The game didn’t waste time trying to lure me into a surreal view of a pre-civil war Rapture. And even the subsequent first person suicide was a shock that, while not completely in the same vein as the plane crash, still drew me in. However, as soon as I was given control and tasked with finding my Little Sister, Eleanor, I spent much of my time meandering around Rapture. A bit of wandering, some shattered glass, and ocean floor later, my worst fears were realized–I simply wasn’t wowed. Though I was somewhat impressed, it honestly just felt like more of the same. This was the same Rapture I’d seen and heard before. From a gameplay perspective, that’s great. From a storytelling one, in a game where narrative is the driving force, not so much so. After seeing Bioshock 2 to its conclusion, I was singing a very different tune, and I’m very glad I didn’t let the first hour or so dissuade me, because what I experienced later on took me completely by surprise.

Unexpectedly, the locations struck a chord with me. During my tour I had seen the Atlantic Express, an old railway that ran through Rapture before single person bathyspheres became popular, giving the metropolis a sense of history and progression it didn’t have before. Ryan Amusements, a theme park turned propaganda machine made me uneasy in showing just how far its namesake Andrew Ryan would go in promoting his vision. The poor district of Pauper’s Drop, the slums where diners and jazz bars thrived in light of Ryan’s “tyranny” fascinated me as well. There was so much going on in Rapture, so much that the first game couldn’t possibly have captured, that in revisiting it all from a different perspective, I gained a new appreciation for the underwater city. Akin to discovering Ryan’s trophy room in Hephaestus from the first game, a similar feeling of dread overcame me when arrived at Persephone: a detention center where Ryan would send his detractors and dissidents. It took a bit of time, but I regained that familiar feeling the first area failed to inspire—the feeling of discovery, of putting together pieces. I was exploring the parts of Rapture that have been long forgotten, even by the residents themselves, and the city felt richer because of it.

It was the same for the characters, main or otherwise. As a protagonist with a clean slate and snubbed memory, it’s just as easy to step into Delta’s shoes as it was to step into Jack’s. The story behind his origins, while not on the level of the introspective mind-fuck Jack had, was still interesting in its own way. As an accomplice I grew fond of Sinclair, even while knowing of his true intentions behind helping me. Others like Stanley Poole (responsible for many of the central characters misfortune), religious/Lamb fanatic Simon Wales, the maniacal Gil Alexander (aka Alex the Great, a man turned monster) all take turns standing in your way while displaying their eccentricities. Surprisingly, each of them were twisted and memorable in ways I didn’t expect, and seeing that many of their lives were in my hands, my encounters with them (particularly Gil Alexander’s) stuck with me long after their time in the spotlight was done.

Of course, I’d also found a new antagonist to despise in Sofia Lamb. While her collectivist ideology initially seemed like a welcome relief from Ryan’s objectivist policies, her true motives in the cultish “Rapture Family” and her altruistic philosophy painted her as a much more sinister villain than Ryan in my mind. Having taken control of Rapture in Ryan’s wake, she uses her power not only to brainwash the remnants of Rapture into her own personal army, but to also attempt conditioning her daughter into what she believes is the perfect human being: one who is devoted to the common good, with no will of its own. The more I learned about her, the more I realized just how corrupt she was in contrast–where Ryan had become a despot in response to his vision of Utopia spiraling out of his control due to his failures, Lamb came to Rapture with the intent of gathering followers and imposing a new order under the guise of family. And she had succeeded.

There were two defining moments of the experience to me. Ones that elevate the sequel in my mind to the level of, if not beyond the original. Neither of them have anything to do with gameplay. (Though it is easily one of the best sequel-to-sequel gameplay updates I’ve ever seen..)

The first was when I rescued a sister without it being my prime objective to do so, and I still can’t pinpoint what it was exactly. It might’ve been when she looked at me after defeating her protector and said “Daddy….is that you?”. It might’ve been the moments when I was forced to defend her while she completed her tasks. Might’ve even been the playful moments with her on my shoulder, hearing her taunt my enemies while I fought. There was a different dynamic at play here, and I felt it. These little girls weren’t just a source of ADAM, or a barometer for my moral compass as in the first. They trusted me. They saw me as their father, a protector, and the more of them I came into contact with, the deeper that bond grew in my eyes. I wanted to help them, they wanted to help me. No one, not even Lamb’s new Big Sisters could keep me from my task. I wouldn’t allow it. Finding out later on that my decisions towards them affected Eleanor and her eventual outlook on life attached even more in terms of gravitas.

The second was the Little Sister sequence towards the end. If the Big Daddy sequence at the end of the original served to communicate the hopeless drudgery of their protector roles, the brilliant Little Sister sequence in the second revealed to me just how brainwashed these tortured little girls were. Rapture became as pristine as a young girl’s bedroom, complete with drapes and toys strewn about. Grotesque splicers became upscale masquerade ball attendees. And when they fell asleep, angels appeared for me to collect, surrounded by butterflies. Blood spatter became rose petals. The Big Daddy was exalted from a grotesque overseer trapped in a diving suit to a knight in shining armor, complete with sculptures illustrating my actions in-game. It was just as shocking when I was jolted out of the fever dream and saw Rapture for what it really was.

It all came to an end eventually. And when it did, culminating in an incredible final push by the Rapture Family, I was given a very fuzzy, yet satisfying ending. It didn’t feel like a copout like the first one did, and I really felt like what I’d done influenced the outcome for the better. On the other end of the spectrum, playing again as an evil character filled me with a sense of dread, and I truly felt like a bastard. Pressing Y to harvest was infinitely more difficult this time around. The girls were afraid of me, the prejudice, fear and hatred against me in Rapture justified. Worst of all, my ruthless, unforgiving behavior had done something to Eleanor that even I didn’t see coming. Sometimes a bad ending can carry a sort of guilty pleasure to it, a bit of a malevolent glee from being a dick, but not here. I was morose by the time the credits rolled.

It’s very funny how things had changed. I was one of the game’s biggest detractors, and it took two playthroughs just to absorb what 2K Marin accomplished with Bioshock 2. It doesn’t fire on the same exact cylinders as the first, and the twist doesn’t carry the exact same weight. To expect it to was admittedly a bit much to begin with, but this wasn’t an excuse in their favor. The truth is, the story is surprising in different ways. Its central antagonist is more of a presence, arguably more sinister in her goals and ideals. And your choices, while seemingly insignificant and ancillary at first glance, carry an immeasurable weight as the game reaches its conclusion.

I came away more than satisfied.

Still don’t care about the multiplayer though, heh.

Who Ya Gonna Call? – Ghostbusters: The Video Game Review

ExpertPenguin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:28:21 +0000

Whenever a licensed property and gaming collide, there are always eyebrows raised. I don’t know what it is, the gaming industry and the movie industry borrow so much from each other, but whenever the two collide, it’s a mess. Movies rarely translate into good games, and good games rarely translate well into movies. It’s just the way things are. So you can imagine my (and everyone else’s) skepticism when a Ghostbusters game was announced. How could it possibly be any good, even with the original writers (Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis) in charge of the story? I expected a potentially funny, but ultimately forgettable gaming experience at best.

Was I wrong?

As a matter of fact, yes.

Because the actual movie is currently stuck in development hell, this is the closest to a Ghostbusters III we’re going to get. With that in mind, I’m pleased to say that for the most part, game succeeds admirably in filling this void. All of the original actors return for their roles (with the exception of two, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis) and their performances are nearly flawless. The game takes place in 1991, two years after Ghostbusters II, and they’ve hired a new recruit to test out their newer, more dangerous equipement. A training mishap or two later, and one of the ghosts, the ubiquitous Slimer, escapes and makes his way back to his original haunting grounds. In the midst of hunting and capturing him, they discover the Stay Puft Marshmallow man wreaking havoc in Times Square, apparently chasing a mysterious woman. But what’s her significance? Also, WHY is the marshmallow man back?

If you found any of those elements hard to follow, you aren’t a Ghostbusters fan, and honestly, that’s who this game was made for. From the minute you boot the game up, you’re treated to the 1980’s version of the Columbia Pictures logo and the nostalgia takes off running with no sign of slowing down. Inside jokes, fanservice, and references to both movies are packed to the brim here, and even the plot itself relies heavily on you having seen the first movie, since nearly every character from the original shows up in some way. It’s well written, practically a love letter to fans, and even though it’s been 20 years since the last adventure, it does a great job of pulling you in like no time has passed at all. I also love the idea of playing as a nameless rookie. By placing you in your own shoes instead of emulating a member of the cast, it’s almost like fufilling a childhood fantasy of tagging along during one of their adventures.

Gameplay wise, it feels like a third person shooter with exploration elements–think Gears of War without any cover system in mind, but with a unique twist in the form of ghost trapping. This was the one part of the game that stood to make or break the experience, and I’m pleased to say it’s pulled off well. In order to capture a ghost, you need to weaken it with your primary weapon, a proton stream, then when its life is depleted, you wrangle it with a capture beam and wrestle it into a trap. It sounds odd on paper, but in practice, it’s quite fun:

In fact, the ghost wrangling part of the gameplay is easily the best part of the experience, it’s so well thought out that you’ll eventually slide into a rhythm of weaken, snare, slam, trap, and while the secondary weapons, ranging from a “Dark Matter” upgrade that gives you the ability to slow enemies down, to the “Meson Collider”, an electrical based rapid fire weapon all have their own feel and use, nothing beats your default weapon. It’s so addictive in itself that it’s almost disappointing when the game switches gears near the final act and puts an emphasis on shooting, but it isn’t a dealbreaker by any means. Of course, a gaming concession had to be made in the form of having to vent out your pack manually so it doesn’t overheat and short out, but even with that dose of realism to keep you on your toes, it doesn’t take away from that feeling of being a Ghostbuster.

Speaking of feeling like a Ghostbuster, for all of the hits with the writing and references, it wouldn’t have come together quite as well if the visuals hadn’t been so on point. It isn’t a overstatement when I say it’s one of the best looking games I’ve played this year, textures, lighting, everything looks much better than anyone ever though it would, from your character’s incredibly detailed proton pack (that shows off everything from your health, to morphing depending on your weapon mode) to some down right spot-on character likenesses.

The physics are also out of this world as well, the “Infernal Engine” powering Ghostbusters is already impressive in itself with the aforementioned graphical staples, but it’s the physics behind it that makes the package stand out overall. Just about everything in the environments can be broken, smashed, and thrown all over the place, something that happens almost constantly because of the collateral damage caused by your proton gun during even the smallest trapping session. By the time the dust clears, tables will be smashed , windows broken, even flaming embers embedded in the walls from your gun’s stream are all present, especially if it’s a particularly tough catch. It isn’t limited to your interaction as well, some ghosts will possess objects in the levels to manipulate them, and occasionally, entire areas will simply break apart at will in order to spook you. By the time I reached the New York Public Library chapter, with the moving bookshelves and realizing every single book had been taken into account, I was floored.

Audio wise, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The music is excellent and pulled straight from the first movie, but that’s also it’s shortcoming, as there are literally only 5 or 6 tracks to choose from. The fact that they’re already familiar doesn’t help matters either when you’ve heard the same fight theme several times over be the close of a chapter. Also, while every character is voiced INCREDIBLY well(with the exception of Alyssa Milano, who sounded wooden as all hell), I had an issue with Peter Venkman’s character. Whether it was Bill Murray’s delivery, or the fact that his lines just weren’t that good this time around, I found myself actually disliking him as the game went on, which is strange, considering he was the life, the personality of the entire team in the movies.

Don’t let that ward you off though, Ghostbusters : The Video Game not only succeeds in being a great licensed game, but also in being a great game on its own merits. The level of quality and love put into it is almost surreal, and even though it’s a bit on the short side (I clocked in at around 8 hours my first time through) and a pinch repetitive, it’s well worth a second playthrough, as there are a bunch of collectibles and well thought out Achievements/Trophies to collect. I didn’t even mention the multiplayer, which is actually campaign in itself, allowing you to take the role of the original four and indulge in several varied co-op campaigns with three other players.

If you’re a fan, this is a no-brainer. If you aren’t, I would strongly suggest watching the first movie, but even being a bit lost to the mythology doesn’t keep this game from being something worth playing. I can’t recommend it enough.

[Multiplatform Note: Between the two next-gen versions, the Xbox 360 one wins by a landslide.The PS3 version just can't cut it graphically.]