‘Red Faction: Guerilla Beta’ Updated
August 7, 2008
The Red Faction: Guerilla Beta just received a very nice update for the Xbox 360 testing going on right now. Gaming Today recently reported on the update and it certainly looks nice. The following changes have been reported:
- Fixed clients seeing excessive lag when performing destruction with the sledgehammer.
- Fixed a few crashes during gameplay.
- Fixed players sometimes dropping out during matchmaking.
- Fixed clients not seeing the countdown timer during matchmaking before there are enough players to launch the game.
- Fixed the countdown timer halting at zero without starting a match
- Fixed the excessive darkness of Deadzone.
- Added NAT type to the bottom right of the main menu.
- Changed patience dots to not cause a line break when matchmaking.
- Changed “BACK” to “DONE” on the match results screen.
- All party members can now hit Y to bring up their friends list in the party lobby, rather than just the leader.
- Finishing a match now awards 25 XP, rather than 5 XP.
- Removed the backpack info popup when you pick up a backpack.
Gaming Hands-On at Comic Con
July 29, 2008
Comic Con has never been a place to make new announcements or unveil any big surprises, but its still a nice little convention that gives the public (along with the press) access to early builds of games usually presented at E3 first.
I was fortunate enough to meet up with the 1up crew (thanks for the invite, Tina!) on Saturday and they got me into the sold-out event to try out a few upcoming titles:
Street Fighter 4
Capcom’s latest in the Street Fighter series seems a bit confused: it updates the visuals to a beautiful cel-shaded look but scales back the complexity introduced in the Street Fighter III games. Regardless, I sat down with with the arcade version of the fighter and won a match against 1up’s Tina Sanchez…which she claims happened because she answered a phone call. By “claims,” I mean she actually received a call.
Judging by the one match I played, fans will be happy with the game as the characters animate well and and the graphics add a welcoming sheen to the experience. It might feel like a nod to Street Fighter II, but I came away impressed with the brief demonstration.
Soulcalibur 4
I tried the game out on Saturday (and beat Tina with the maybe-cheap Yoda), but it’s already out so its kind of meaningless to give impressions of a game available now. So go ahead, buy the game and stay tuned to Kezins’s review of the game shortly.
Mega Man 9
The theme with the upcoming Mega Man game seems to be “retro devolved” in that the title is presented in graphics reminiscent of the 8-bit era. Yes, they didn’t even go with the just-as-retro 16-bit visuals. Regardless, trying out the two levels at Comic Con reminded me just how fun the gameplay still is for the revered series.
Makes me want to bust out my copy of Mega Man: Powered Up and Mega Man Collection to play and ready up for the incoming DLC game. It might have ancient 8-bit stylings, but the game appears to be just as hard and fun as you remember it to be.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The line to this game seriously tested my patience but it was all worth it. I played what seemed like the first level of the game as Darth Vader knights his “Secret Apprentice,” and sends him out on his first mission.
From my playthrough, the force powers were well-implemented and could be used freely until your “force meter” winds down. Enemies, doors, hinges, barrels, etc. can all be manipulated and flung around at will. I had tons of fun pulling out bars where X-Wing fighters were zooming past and exploding right into my little “speed bump.”
Afro Samurai
This game based on the popular Spike TV show, Afro Samurai, which features the foul-mouth Samuel L. Jackson follows the American-anime’s art style perfectly. Plenty of dark colors and Japanese huts abound while you take down enemies in the streets.
While the controls made use of simple commands such as a slow-down, kick, and punch button the number of enemies forced me to vary up my combos a bit. The gameplay is said to be influenced by the soundtrack, but Comic Con’s noisy setting wasn’t ideal for experiencing this. So far, so good, though.
Dark Void
I got to play this game only briefly, but judging by that I noticed that the framerate wasn’t too good. Which isn’t a big deal, because the framerate is the final thing to get optimized in a game’s development.
Other than that, it played a bit like Gears of War with less gruesome kills and animations. I’ll be taking a wait-and-see approach with this game.
Castle Crashers
The full extent of how much I played the game can be wrapped up with this: I got my hands on the demo’s Xbox 360 controller and…that was it. The demo had been crowded up by 3 other players already and their wayward friend came up to me and ask “If I’d mind.”
I did mind, but decided to not be a jerk and gave up the controller, letting him experience the game with his friends. Eww. The game’s out August 27 on XBLA, though, so no biggie.
Well, that’s about all I played. Everything else was either really crowded or comic book-related; sadly, I had very little knowledge on them “graphic novels” to appreciate that aspect of the convention. I might just read up for next year’s show.
I blogged. Tina blogged. Check out the posts and comment, if you will.
Andre vs. Hogan, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania Screens
July 17, 2008
Have to admit, after playing Smackdown Vs. Raw 2008 I was a little disappointed to find out there weren’t a lot of Legend Wrestlers, so I returned it. I may be old school, but I’m glad THQ came up with this version of WWE’s Legends of Wrestlemania. It’s one to pick up… and keep. Screens alone bring back memories of Wrestlemania III.
Coming in March 2009 to the PS3 and X360.
- DISTINGUISHED ROSTER AND MANAGERS: More than 40 larger-than-life WWE Legends. Legendary Managers will also have extensive functionality, playing important roles in match outcomes.
- ABSOLUTE REALISM: Embrace a historically accurate representation of WWE telecasts from the Eighties and Nineties, including dynamic visual treatments, signature ring entrances, renowned commentators, notable venues and much more.
- COMBO FIGHTING SYSTEM: Explore a new, grapple-based fighting system that captures the high-energy action and drama seen in historic WWE matches. Players will have each Legend’s arsenal of grapple moves, strike attacks, reversals and taunts at their disposal throughout a variety of current and nostalgic match types.
- WRESTLEMANIA TOUR MODE: Participate in key matches from multiple WrestleMania events. Vintage WWE footage will set up matches, explain feuds and detail the rivalries behind them, situating players in the heart of each contest.
- CREATE-A-LEGEND: Create the Legends of tomorrow, complete with customizable costumes, entrances, move sets and more.
- ONLINE FUNCTIONALITY: Challenge players around the world to matches on the biggest stages in WWE history.
Click on “Read More” to see the screenshots…
Game Review: ‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ (Xbox 360)
July 4, 2008
Title: Don King Presents: Prizefighter
Don King is certainly one of those characters in this world that you love to hate. His odd hairdo, weird personality and use of his own slang words certainly is enough to excite most people, whether they like him or not. When Don promised us that ‘Prizefighter’ would be the “most realistic boxing video game in history”, I got excited even though I didn’t really believe him. With that said, ‘Don King Presents: Prizefighter’ doesn’t quite make it into the same league as the Fight Night series from EA.
GRAW Returns To R3Match Ladders
June 25, 2008
If you thought GRAW was dead, you thought wrong. There are still plenty of people playing the title. For this reason, R3Match has decided to bring back the ladders for the title. I haven’t played the original Ghost Recon A.W. for the Xbox 360 in a while, but I’m tempted to get back into it. Check out the via link below for information on the ladders…
Via R3Match
Oh, Those Cut Scenes…
June 13, 2008
POWERED BY WWW.R3MATCH.COM
MGS4, as I’m sure you’ve heard, has really been trying our patience this week with its lenghty cut scenes. So far, in my playthrough of the game, its been as if the gameplay breaks up the videos — instead of the other way around. Video games have, since their inception, been trying to cop off the vision of Hollywood and the way it presents its story.
The following is my prime examples for which games have presented their story best, worst, and which one gets halfway there…
Best Presentation
BioShock — Ken Levine’s baby really took video game story telling to a new level. Instead of forcing the player to watch the story unfold a certain way, it took more of a Half-Life 2-esque approach to it. The interactive storytelling made the game fall into its own, creating a story that was engaging and even presented some game philosophy questions towards the end of your aquatic adventure.
Itagaki Vs. Tecmo
June 7, 2008
POWERED BY WWW.R3MATCH.COM
Faces are everything for game companies. Popular faces…even better. This past week has seen the continuing battle between Ninja Gaiden creator, Tomonobu Itagaki, and his former employer, Tecmo, as the face of the company has left. Itagaki has turned his resignation in and is due out July 1st.
The main scuffle was that Team Ninja’s main man did not receive bonuses for his work on Dead or Alive 4 and was suggested that if he didn’t like the goings-on, he’d quit or sue.
Well, he did both and the aftermath hasn’t been pretty.
Metal Gear Solid 4 ladders now open!
June 3, 2008
If you simply can’t wait for some Metal Gear Solid 4 action, you can at least check out the ladders on R3Match that have already been set up. Sign up your team or as an individual to prepare for the June 15, 2008 launch. Despite the fact that Konami has pretty much tried to threaten the press when it comes to reviews on the title, I feel that it’s still going to be a bad ass experience. Aside from long load times and too many cut scenes, the gameplay looks awesome.
