A Change in Plans

To My Legions of Adoring Fans:

You might have noticed or perhaps you don't care, but I am now writing for http://www.sfx-360.com. They are a good group of people with genuine passion and interest for the gaming industry. I consider myself lucky to write for this crew. That said, I will continue to update this, my personal blog, with random crap. It might be a review of a breakfast cereal, I might be a ranking of different toilet papers, it might be some non-sensical ramblings, it might be a hiaku. I don't know. I really have no idea so I'm just gonna wing it. If you have any ideas or thoughts, send them my way.

Much Love,

Punch

A Fine Delinquent

So I said that I would get back to posting on my blog around the first of November. I lied.

That said, we are finally settled into our new house. The gaming lair is established, fully functional, and ten shades of awesome. During said transition period, I've played some outstanding games: Uncharted 2, Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed 2, etc. I know that I promised to settle in and write reviews, but what can I tell you that you have not already experienced or read about. Play these games because they are all freaking awesome! Instead of me sitting for hours by my computer, I would rather be sitting in front of my TV/360 playing these titles (I know, I know, Uncharted is a PS3 game). In other words, I'm too busy playing games to write about games. Since the majority of you folks that happen to read this are gamers, you are sure to understand. See you online!

A Short Moving Break

Hear ye! Hear ye! Please note that this oustanding blog of awesomeness will not be updated for a few weeks while I move into my new house. The blog should be up and running again around the first of November. I plan on picking up a some games during that period. Hopefully I can get through a few of them to throw them up for review. Some possibilities include Brutal Legend, Borderlands, and Uncharted 2 (gasp! A PS3 game!). Be sure to check back soon!

Halo 3: ODST - A Short Once-Over

Did I like Halo 3: ODST? Indeed, I did. I most certainly enjoyed myself as I played through the cropped single-player experience. But what about the multiplayer you ask? Was the experience satisfying? As Sarah Palin would say, "You betcha".

Below you will find my likes and dislikes from the overall ODST experience. Enjoy.

POSITIVES

• ODST had a great overall feel. I really thought Bungie nailed the isolated unlikely hero vibe.
• Storytelling: ODST utilized the flashback storytelling technique quite well. I enjoyed the desolate and desperate feel as I searched the streets of New Mombasa for each of the items that triggered flashbacks.
• Personalization: The Bungie storytelling team put in some extra time to make the characters feel human.
• Voice-overs: Bam! said the lady. 'Nuff said.
• The Visor: Pure Awesome. The visor really made me feel like a high-tech soldier of the future. Pew-pew.
• The weapons: Yup. The Halo pistol is back and badder than ever. Slow and steady headshots FTW. The silenced SMG was also a nice addition.
• Enemy A.I.: The enemy A.I. was some of the best I've seen yet. I loved watching packs of grunts scatter after I tossed a grenade in the middle of them. (Well done @maxdyckhoff).
• Firefight Mode: A beacon of awesomeness. Non-stop action. The ultimate time killer. This mode caused me to be ultra tired every morning for a week.

Negatives:

• Too short: I know, I know, everyone has been complaining about this. Well add me to that camp. I liked the campaign so much that I wanted more.
• Storytelling - The obligatory love story seemed forced and awkward.
• Veronica Dare - Ms. Dare looked too much like Courtney Love for me to believe that anyone would be in love with her.
• Matchmaking MIA: Bungie really missed the boat by not including matchmaking for the Firefight mode. I've never seen so many Twitter posts and text messages trying to set up a multiplayer game. It's almost like it was on the Playstation Network (sorry...couldn't resist).
• Dropped Firefights: If one player drops from a round of Firefight, the whole game ends. Obviously, this is frustrating.

Halo 3: ODST is a winner. See the negatives listed above? They are all forgiveable. Buy it.

The Beatles Rock Band : A Review

I'll start out with the admission that I am a fan of The Beatles. Admission is the first step in dealing with a problem, correct? I will also admit that my fandom may have perhaps skewed my review a slight bit. If that is a problem and you are looking for an impartial review, please stop reading. Anything that contains The Beatles is alright by me. That said, let us continue...

Musical greatness is a topic that is avidly and passionately argued by just about everyone. Even if you are not a fan of The Beatles, I think you would be hard pressed to deny that The Beatles had a great influence on rock and roll as a whole. The fact that The Beatles: Rock Band exists makes a statement. It makes a statement for the greatness of The Beatles, but it also makes a statement for the medium of video games. Arguably the greatest band of all time has granted full access to their legendary catalog and allowed and inside look to a video game company. That is saying something...

Let's start with the game itself. What we have here is pretty standard Rock Band stuff. There are really no surprises in terms of delivery and gameplay. The game is still played with plastic instruments, and you still pretend that you are musically talented while playing it. You have your basic quick play mode and what is called the Story Mode. The Story Mode follows The Beatles from their early days in the Cavern Club to their drug ravaged sessions at the Abbey Road studio. Each act in the story mode chronicles the band's life in the respective eras through introduction videos and song choices. Depending on the number of stars you unlock after playing each song, you unlock new photos of the band or actual clips of the band during that era.

Where this game differs from other Rock Band releases is in the presentation of the portrayed band. This is The Beatles we are talking about here. This is not a hodge podge of Harmonix created rock star avatars that are thrown together onstage to strum along to your favorite Paramore song. Harmonix really stepped their game up on character designs. The character models seemed much more lifelike and soulful than in other Rock Band releases. Perhaps this can be attributed to having an actual human being to compare the avatars to. Regardless, the attention to detail is impressive. In addition to quality character models, it appears that Harmonix put in some overtime to make the characters actions as musically accurate as possible. A number of times I noticed George's hands on the fret boards performing hammer-ons at the appropriate times or Paul moving his hands up and down the fretboard with the actual notes of the bassline. Previous Rock Band games seemed to ignore this important point. The Beatles: Rock Band made the in game avatars look and act like the real musicians they portrayed.

The settings in which the game took place provided the Harmonix team with some unique visual challenges. Each section in the story mode found The Beatles in an appropriate venue for era. The actual live venues provided quality matches when compared to their real life counterparts. It was quite obvious that pain staking detail was poured into the the virtual Cavern Club, The Ed Sullivan Show set, Budokan, Shea Stadium, Abbey Road Studios, and the Apple Corp rooftops. Even though the level of detail in the live venues was as impressive is it was, the Abbey Road sessions made the game shine. The Beatles quit touring prior to the Abbey Road Studio sessions and started writing more psychadelic music. The Harmonix team made respectful use out the their granted artistic license and developed incredible fade in/fade out dream sequences to match each of the songs from these era. The sequences ranged from the dark and moody blacks and whites of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, to the bright lights of Here Comes the Sun. These dream sequences alone make The Beatles Rock Band a must play for any fan of the band.

I think it is quite obvious that I really enjoyed this game, but as with any title, there are some things that really frosted my tail. First off, the same few crowd characters were used and re-used throughout the songs in each era. This is the freaking Beatles...you know, the band that started the screaming, chasing teenage girls thing? A bad that continues to sell mass amounts of records nearly 40 years after their existence. I think some more fan animations were in order. Another point of contention for me is the lack of guitar straps on the characters. Seriously, are you going to tell me that The Beatles never used guitar straps? Ever? Finally, the song choices. Seriously, no Hey Jude? No Eleanor Rigby? Then I realize that we still need to be milked for money via downloadable content. It makes sense now!

I must recommend this game to any fan of music, otherwise I would not be able to sleep at night. Obviously, this is a must play for fans of The Beatles. Unless your hate kittens, your Grandma, and rock and roll, you will pick this game up. Even my wife likes it (and she thinks video games are for stupid boys).

Irreregular?

Yeah...I know...it's been a while. But you know what? I've been busy. That real job stuff can be a drag sometimes... Look back soon for full reviews of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Beatles Rock Band, and Halo 3: ODST.

British Invasion Redux

Harmonix/MTV's ambitious The Beatles: Rock Band releases to the wild on September 9, 2009 (number nine...number nine...). Finally, fans of the fab four will have the chance to play 45 classic Beatles songs with fake plastic instruments. On September 9th, you will be able to rock with classic early bubblegum Beatles pop, or you can whip out the hallucinogens (not recommended kids!) and strum bar away to the drug induced jams of the Beatles later years. It will be interesting to see how this game does in terms of sales numbers when compared to the other Rock Band and Guitar Hero games. Granted, The Beatles are arguably the world's most popular band, but this is an entirely different demographic. Will the game appeal only to current Beatles fans or will the release of the game spawn a whole new generation of fans? Either way, the game should prove to be another feather in Harmonix's cap. Let us hope it does well so we can all enjoy further band specific releases. The Bee Gees: Rock Band anyone?

Pirates Aaargh Being Banned !

@Stepto (Stephen Toulouse - Microsoft's Director of Banhammer) announced today via Twitter that the Xbox Live team is taking steps to ban users who have pirated copies of Halo 3: ODST. @Stepto made it perfectly clear that gamers who lawfully obtained their copies from dirty street date breaking retailers would not be on the business end of the hammer of ban. Only those who illegally pirated the game via nefarious means would meet the fate of @Stepto and his team. Let this be a lesson kiddies...Is playing a game three weeks early really worth a lifetime ban from Xbox Live? (Answer: No. It is not.)

Project Natal : My $.02

Okay, I admit it. I was pretty amped to see Project Natal at E3, on Xbox Live videos, and on various late night talk shows. Finally, a motion controller in the truest sense. This is not a little toy that I could aimlessly waggle through the air. This is true voice and facial recognition. This is full body scan type material! I was really excited to see it integrated with an existing title (Burnout) that was not some party game thrown together specifically for this new gadget to battle Wii Sports. I immediately had visions of playing a motion controlled Fallout 3, rummaging dumpsters for caps and shooting my dartgun at Radscorpions. I thought about fighting waves of bandits as my Fable 2 hero. I thought about chucking a plasma grenade at a passing Warthog. Wait a minute...do I really want to do that? Am I going to need mass amounts of energy drinks for COD4 sessions? Will Natal even integrate with these so-called "hardcore" games? Is this new contraption meant for a regular avid gamer like me? Do I even want this control scheme in my favorite games?

Sure, Natal looks like a blast for party type games, but I am not sure how it will work outside of that genre. I remind myself that I was quite excited for the Wii as well. Now the dust gets blown off the Wii only when my daughter wants to play Barbie Island Princess or Hannah Montana.

Let's face it...in stereotypical terms, we gamers are a slothful lot. The thought of having to jump around my cleared out man cave to play a video game does not necessarily appeal to me on a daily basis. For me, exercise is limited to the gym or outdoors. That said, I think it is very important that Natal be kept separate from or very carefully integrated with the current controller. Who knows, the Burnout demo might have just been for demo hype purposes. Microsoft might not have any plans for Natal for games outside of those created specifically for the platform and this is all moot.

But if it is not a moot point, Microsoft has a lot of questions to answer. Will Natal work with only single player games? If Natal is going to be included in the multiplayer fray, how would it function against players using a traditional controller? I would have to imagine that a player using a controller would have a distinct advantage over a Natal user (in a quick twitch FPS). Will there need to be Natal specific lobbies in multiplayer games? In order to win over the hardcore, Natal integration will need to be seamless with the beloved titles. If not, many a gamer will leave it by the gaming wayside.

I have no doubt that Microsoft will address these issues and others in due time. The way Natal is marketed will probably be the best indication of the intended audience. If the commercials contain Master Chief or Marcus Fenix, there is hope for the "hardcore". I am confident that Microsoft will not shove Natal into the favorites if it is not done right. On the other hand, if the TV spots include a cheesy forced family overly enjoying themselves in a living room playing virtual lawn jarts as their avatars, well...we know who the intended audience really is.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Microsoft will include games for their core user base instead of going the way of Nintendo. On the flipside... picture if you will, four pre-teens hopped up on Game Fuel, flailing wildly, screeching into their mics during a multiplayer Halo match **shudder**.

Shadow Complex Review

Shadow Complex made its much anticipated debut on the XBLA last Wednesday. This 1200 point darling was lighting up the interwebs and drawing critical acclaim before the general populous hade a chance to get their grimy little hands on it.

I have finally had a chance to play through the game and I can now assure you that it does not disappoint. Rarely does a super-hyped game reach expectations...Shadow Complex exceeds them. Prior to my playthrough I read about comparisons to Metroid and Castelvania. These comparisons are spot on, yet do not do the game justice. This little gem has everything a gamer could ask for; action, leveling, platforming, puzzles, shooting, exploration, etc... All of it masterfully developed by Chair Studios in the beauty of Epic's Unreal engine. Grapically the game shines, especially for an arcade title. In fact, this game looks and plays better than most full retail games. The sound effects are of the highest quality (love the screams of enemy soliers!) as well as the voice overs.

This is a great pick up and play title because it offers something for the casual shooter fan to the most hardcore fan. It is easy enough to play through the main story and feel fulfilled, otherwise there are countless exploration opportunities for the completionists out there.

This is a must play title for anyone with a 360 and Live. For only 1200 points, it almost felt like stealing.

Gamescom

Some pretty major news has come out of Gamescom in Germany over the past couple of days. Sony has finally revealed the frequently rumored, once denied PS3 Slim to the world. More importantly, it also includes a $100 price drop. Could this be what Sony needs to make the giant relevant again? The new price point should convert a number of those who were previously on the fence.

Lionhead Studios and MSG Europe Director, Peter Molyneux also dropped a couple of bombshells at the German gaming conference. Fable II will now have pay-as-you-go episodic content beginning at the end of September. More details to come later. The bigger surprise was the reveal of Fable III slated for Holiday 2010. Decision making and touch(?!?) will play major factors in your effectiveness as ruler of all things Albian. This game is sure to have Natal integration given the timing of it's release and the fact that Molyneux is Natal's de-facto poster boy.

Exciting news out of Deutschland! More later...

#politegamer

Check out the #politegamer hashtag on Twitter. This was started by @DMZilla from the XBox Live team. Some pretty funny stuff...

Shadow Complex : 8/19/09

Shadow Complex releases to the XBLA this Wednesday. There is some serious buzz around this one...deservedly so from what I read! See if it lives up to the Epic Games/Chair/Unreal 3 engine hype this Wednesday!