April 24, 2010

Fallout Preview

Boxart Fallout

Brief preview of Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360 (First 10 Levels)

The christmas rush is here again. Developers around the globe are working round the clock to have
games on store shelves for the holidays.And as always with this time of year we’re spoiled for choice
with dozens of games battling for our cash.One such game is the new offering for Bethesda, makers of ESIV: Oblivion and now Fallout 3.

First off i’d like to clarify, i have never played the original Fallout games. But judging from screenshots that really doesn’t matter as this new title seems to be nothing like its predecessor’s.
Of course we have a similar setting but apart from that gameplay, view and pretty much everything else has been changed for this new outing.

Outline/Gameplay

The game kicks off in typical RPG fashion as you design your character and lay the ground work to mold him into a certain class. I have to say i was really impressed with how Bethesda freshened this experiance up. When you start the game you literally start at your character’s beginings. After ploping out of your mother you are greeted by your father (Liam Neeson). And through him you make choices on sex and apperance. You then get to experiance a gaming first as you take your first baby steps around and discover your skills using a pop-up book. There’s more progression iinside the vault as you move up through childhood, teen years and finally become an adult.

Its then that the game really kicks off as you leave the safety of the vault and enter Capital Wasteland. Once outside you really get the Oblivion feel about the game. Lots of open world to explore and NPC’s to meet. You really have to take alook around your surroundings to find what to do. The story isn’t sppon fed to you. Its all around you, on the radio, in books and notes or just picked up by earwigging on NPC conversations.

Now on to the fun part, the combat. This is where Fallout really sets itself apart from Oblivion. Combat is handled in two ways. As a basic FPS, relieing on your own skills to take down opponents. Alternatively you can use V.A.T.S, this feature basically lets you target specific parts of your enemy with the hit percentage based of distance and your skill with the equipped weapon. Its comes in really handy when the surrounded as you can target multiple opponents to attack. It also works as a kind of overview/command tool, giving you the chance to think about your strategy before attacking.

There is a downside to V.A.T.S though, it relies on AP (Action Points). This means you are limtied to a certain number of shots. The amount per shot depends on the weapon equipped. Once you expend your AP you need to wait from them to replenish. I think this was a smart idea by Bethesda, if you had infinite AP the game would be more like an RPG from FP than an FPS/RPG.

GFX

Graphically Fallout looks gritty and dull, but in a good way. Th art design matches the setting very well and although it wouldn’t rival Crysis it suits the game. Of course the version tested was on the 360 so add some AA on the PC and it will look even better.

What really stood out so far is the graphic ways to kill your enemies. There’s lots of bloody murder with arms, legs, torso’s and heads flying especially when using V.A.T.S. There’s also the Bloody Mess skill which basically devastates your opponent to bits, this has been one of my favourites so far.

As with any RPG there’s not much to say about the GFX apart from they lend themselves well to emersing you into the gameworld.

Conclusion

So far i’m really enjoying the game. Although it is very reminescent of Oblivion it brings enough to the table to keep me involved. I think the best way to describe it is as a lovechild of Oblivion and Stalker. After 8hrs i’ve barely cracked the surface of the main story and i feel there’s a hell of alot more to experiance. Expect a full review soon.

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April 23, 2010

Mass Effect - Game of the Year

If your in anyway into your console RPG’s, you’ed of realized as i have that up to now the Xbox 360 really hasn’t unleashed many jems in the genre. Sure we had Oblivion but outside that the rest were sub-par at best. Blue Dragon, Enchanted Arms, Eternal Sonata, these games all tried to set the bar for future action RPG’s on the 360 and failed misrably. Our last glimmering hope for 2007 was a big budget title by renowned RPG makers Bioware.

Given Bioware’s long running history with superb titles in the genre, most were expecting a solid title from its first dip into the next-gen console market. But in truth we got so much more. Mass Effect is in a word ’spectacular’. Though could you predict anything less from the creators of possibly the greatest console RPG of all time, Knights of the Old Republic?

Graphics - 10

Does it usurp Gears of War’s throne as prettist game on the 360. Well no, but its not far off. Being its an RPG title, ME obviously has alot more to render than GOW but its still by far the most beautifully crafted and textured RPG game engine ever created.

Character models are incredibly detailed, fully realised, wonderfully animated and almost photogenic. When engaged in diologue you really get sense of awareness and emotion from them. You get to feel every part of the story through them instead of simply reading it in text or through the voice work. And given there is so many different alien species in the game it is no mean feat to keep each one unique and at the same time fresh.

As with the character’s, the ME galaxy is extremely detailed and well textured. Be it a barren moon or an expansive space station, everywhere you go seems to come to life all around you. Much like KOTOR each world you visit has a destinct vibe which is really brought to life with the engine. This is one game thats trully uses GFX as a means to make the gameplay more immersive and fun instead of an expensive marketing ploy.

My only gripe here and the reason i came close to deducting a point is upon entering an area the texture buffer is too slow to keep up with the game. This basically means for 3-5 seconds character’s and elements of the world will be missing most details and look rather like globs of putty. This slightly breaks the atmosphere but not so much so that it ruins the game in anyway. This problem was also evident in GOW, hopefully future developers will be able to find a way around this problem.

Also all weapon models in the game are simply recolours. Don’t get me wrong they look cool but some variety would have been nice.

Sound - 10

Nothing quiet beats perfection now does it. As with the GFX the sound in ME really adds to the immersion factor and gameplay. Out of any genre, RPG titles really excel with good voice work and enviromental sound/music. And im pleased to say ME has all of the above.

What really stands out though is the voice work. In a game thats 20-30 hours you know thats got to be a big script. But unlike alot of new games ME is fully voiced, meaning every NPC character has a voice of there own. And even if some of them have but a few repeated lines, it again just helps to suck you into the game’s atmosphere.

Gameplay - 10

RPG’s over the years have always been for a certain type of gamer. Until Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy series popularity really took off in chapter 7 most casual gamers thought RPG’s were just for ‘nerdy’ types with too much free time. But over the years the genre has been fleshed out and made more universal.

With that in mind i feel Mass Effect will have the same level of impact on the casual game market as FF7 did way back in 97. Unlike many other popular RPG series out now, ME is just a joy to play. It isn’t all statisics, nullifying elements and the like. It’s a really a fun action shooter with some complex customization under the hood. So don’t expect to get by with +100 fire damage or +50 shell defense, you also have to have a keen dead eye and make good use of cover.

As stated unlike most conventional RPG’s ME plays alot like a shooter. You move in a squad of 3 which you can customize with the characters you meet in your adventures. Each member has different core techniques, be it combat, tech or biotics (mage type). And you’ll need to really think about the mission before selecting your crew. For example if your going into a battlefield in open range having a good sniper covering your movements can be the difference between living and dying

You can choose to advance your crew member’s in any way you see fit, so for example Lt.Alenko has strong core tech abilites but if you wanted you good make him more rounded by upgrading his abilty with an assault rifle. And thats the great thing about the upgrade tree’s you can select different weapons or biotecs to be proficiant in. Meaning just because your character is well trained at healing doesn’t mean he/she can’t hold there own if they get cut off from the rest of the squad.

Why this is also interesting is as we know most gamers will connect or begin to favour certain characters in RPG’s. With the freedom available in this system it means you don’t have to change the way you play the game in order to have your favourite characters with you while progessing the story. Meaning if you like Alenko but prefer to destroy Security Droids rather than disabling them your free to do so.

Once you’ve assessed the mission and picked your squad you’ll be dropped into the area via the SSV Normady, the fastest ship in humanities fleet and piloted by Seth Green no less. When you come across enemies you’ll have complete control over your team mates, you can issue orders and formulate the best plan of action for that particular situation. This is all realtime, there’s no pausing to consider your options which just adds to the tension as you try to get your bearings under heavy fire.

I’m sure there’s probably some people thinking right now, “Is this another Deus Ex”, all FPS and little RPG, and i can safely say no. ME really takes equal parts, which makes it just as strategic as your fav RPG and just as entertaining and fun to play as your fav shooter. Its tough to explain the combat in ME since there’s never been anything like it. You really just have to play it to get a sense of how good it really is.

All in all i can safely say this is the most fun combat system i’ve ever experianced in an RPG title. I’ve been waiting for years for a developer to come along and take some of the monotony out of the genre and although Bioware came close with Jade Empire, this time around they hit it right on the button.

Replay Value/ Longevity - 9

The main story of ME will take you in the region of 20-30 hours to complete.Theres also plenty of side quests available on the different planets you visit aswell as missions you’ll be given from your commanding officers aboard the Normandy. Unlike many RPG’s the side quests are just as engaging as the main story and many have branching story lines taking you to different planets across the galaxy. Heck you even get to visit the moon, though unfortunitly i failed to find the lunar lander :(.

Outside of this you can also explore uninhabited planets in your Mako Hummer. By doing this you’ll be able to find rare items and it is nescesary to complete some of the side quests. One tip though, make sure you check the surface scanner (map) if your looking for points of interest. I didn’t realize this till close to the end of the game and had just been aimlessly wandering across the planet praying to hit paydirt.

There’s also plenty of 360 achievements to unlock, some of which will require several play through’s to achieve and some will even require you to play as certain classes. This i feel works as a great incentive to bite the bullet and see what the other classes have going for them. And since Mass Effect 2 won’t be hitting shelves for a long long time yet, why the hell not try em.

Conclusion

Mass Effect is stunning. With all the overly hyped up games of the christmas season coming out i totally overlooked this jem. But once i sat down to play it i couldn’t tear myself away. Bioware just got all the elements right on this one. The story is excellent, the GFX are slick, voice work is spot on and the gameplays a blast. If you’ve already zipped through COD4 or breezed through Crysis and just want something engaging and epic for the holidays ME is definitely for you.

Verdict - 10/10

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July 28, 2005

Free Games

Filed under: Emulation — Philip @ 11:48 pm

Hi all, came across this using Firefox’ stumble plug-in which is quite cool. Do a search on google for “Stumble Upon”. The site i found allows you to play some old games for free, have a look here and let me know what you think…..

Free Games

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Hunter Vs Battlefield 2

Filed under: Emulation — Philip @ 11:41 pm

While reading a post about Battlefield 2 i was reminded of one of my favourites from the Amiga. I don’t know if anyone remembers a game called Hunter? In this game, which sported some impressive “3D graphics” for the time, you went about various military style missions in a bounded 3D world.

What i really loved about this game was the freedom to use many types of vehicles from push bikes to missle laden helicopters. You had several different types of land and sea vehicles and even a hover craft which was the shit! I remember thinking at the time of release, WOW they could never top this game!

In a way i was right in a personal sense, as it still holds a warm fuzzy place in my heart. From what i am reading on Battlefield 2, maybe Hunter has met it’s successor and modernised a complete and utter classic, good to see.

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July 1, 2005

Emulation opener

Filed under: Emulation — Philip @ 9:30 pm

I would like to start an emulation section on the site as i have a soft spot for old games and seem to end up playing them more than the latest and greatest.

My foray into the world of emulation began with a download of an emulator for the Atari 800XL, my very first experience with computers was with one of these legends of gaming history. In fact my earliest interest in computer programming (my current means of contributing to the rat race) sprung from typing line upon line out of a book full of “write it yourself games” for the Atari 800.

Since downloading this emulator i have delved deep to find games i used to love playing. I found some very enjoyable and others left me wondering how i ever enjoyed playing them!

After this i downloaded WinUAE an Amiga emulator, it was like going from driving a wheelie bin to sliding into an Aston Martin DBR9. Happy days were here again. I have again become addicted to Civilization, Utopia, Turrican 2, Moonstone and many other classic titles from the amiga range. I would highly recommend it to anyone with a place in their heart for the good old games . . .

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