Gaming Addict

In a world where a long gaming experience has become any game that lasts longer than 10 hours, I’m happy that BioWare has announced Dragon Age: Origins will feature 120+ hours of gameplay.  Nice to see that a single player RPG can still pack a huge amount of content punch.  I’m absolutely ecstatic to have another great RPG that offers a ton of new gameplay features, after listlessly looking for something to fill the void after finally completing my 100+ hour game of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  

Even my personal Xbox favorite, Mass Effect seemed a little short for the RPG genre, with a storyline that can be easily completed in less than 20 hours. Too often now publishers go for the quick shot of gameplay, producing something that will entertain you for a few nights, but will then leave you hanging when the game ends all too soon.  Most recently I remember my disappointment with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which was ridiculously short, even by today’s standards.

I want my money’s worth out of a game, especially an RPG.  That means a long and rich story driven experience.  Not endless cheesy dungeons, where my only encouragement is looking for random item drops that I can equip onto my character.  I want events that matter, and to feel accomplished for having completed a game, not disappointed at how short the experience was.

I’m thinking Fable I & II when I’m talking about disappointingly short RPG’s.  Both games were great, with Fable being the far more entertaining experience of the two, but hopefully III will really give us a complete experience.  I just feel like Molyneux throws too many distractions at you, not really giving you a complete RPG experience, but fooling you into thinking you got one.  

Oh, and btw, adding the ability to play through a game more than once, using your same leveled up character, does not qualify as extending the gameplay experience to me.  So I’m happy to see BioWare offering something of value, in a disappointingly crowded environment of very short games.  

The box art for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 has been released, and I’m a little unimpressed.  I’ve never really been sold on PES over FIFA, mostly because of the fact that PES can’t afford to get the rights to the vast majority of football clubs the way that EA can with FIFA.  I’ll hand it to PES that the quality of the simulation is for the most part better, and more realistic.  But FIFA just has the bells and whistles that truly represent why this is the world’s most popular sport.  

Not to mention the cover art.  Look at PES.  You’ve got arguably the two best strikers in world football right now, in Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres, and they both look bored to tears, acting like they’re actually playing. 

Whereas take the FIFA 10 US artwork, which has been released for a while now, you have Frank Lampard front and central shouting, and looking passionate about the game.  Although Blanco and Sacha Kljestan look fairly bored just like Torres and Messi, still, I think the FIFA cover inspires more passion.  Even if you’re not a Chelsea fan, which I most definitely am not.  At any rate, I’m really droning on about nothing, so decide for yourselves.  I’ll be sticking with FIFA solely based on the more fully fleshed out Be A Pro mode, and that’s become the meat and potatoes of my videogame footballing.  

If you haven’t played the newest Mass Effect DLC yet, you may want to just avoid the download altogether.  Sure, it’s only 400 MS points on Xbox Live, but honestly, in my experience, it’s just not really worth the price.  What makes Mass Effect fantastic, is the story, thematic elements, incredible graphics, and the depth of customization you can perform on your character.  The combat is fairly low on the list, as it’s clearly just a Gears of War rip off, and was designed by a team that wasn’t used to designing shooters.

Yet BioWare’s new DLC release only offers combat, as Pinnacle Station is little more than an addition that allows you to go through simulated combat scenarios.  You go through computer generated combat scenarios, trying to get the high score, then move on…that’s about all that’s on offer.  Talk about a disappointment after how awesome Bring Down The Sky was.  I don’t like Mass Effect’s trend of affordable, but short DLC however.  Oblivion really set a standard that has left me disappointed with any other RPG DLC with Shivering Isles.  

Also, you may have to wait to buy Pinnacle Station anyway, as BioWare has announced that the original format of the DLC contained a bug in which Pinnacle Station was unplayable on Platinum Hits copies of the game.  

Modern Warfare 2 just got twice as badass as before, as Infinity Ward has just announced dual wielding for the CoD 4 direct sequel.  Of course this immediately prompted outrage from fans who would fear an unfair advantage for players dual wielding, over players not dual wielding.  Sparked from the MW2 trailer that showed a player using two Desert Eagles to blast through enemies.  I’d have to say that does seem a little skewed in a multiplayer scenario.

But Infinity Ward responded to the dual-wielding (Akimbo) concerns, “Happened to be dual Deagles. Now to calm some initial fears of “OMG! Overpowered!”. Akimbo is limited and balanced, just like EVERYTHING in the game. It’s limited to sidearms, harder to aim than standard and you can’t go ADS (aim down sights) since you have a weapon in each hand; Among other balancing techniques, so don’t freak out before you see it in action.”

However, I’m from the Halo school of thought.  The first Halo will always be remembered most fondly in my mind, because of the excellent single player experience on offer.  But Halo 2 will always be the turning point where the game became bonafide badass, with the inclusion of multiplayer and dual-wield weapons.  Two SMGs is infinitely better than one, so bravo Modern Warfare.  I’m all for every FPS allowing you the carnage that akimbo guarantees.  

Diablo III news out of BlizzCon today, where Blizzard entertainment revealed a new class to be included in Diablo III, the Monk.  The Monk will be another melee class, like the Barbarian, but instead of focusing on strength in attack, the Monk will be more about lighting fast strikes, instead of brutal weapon blows.  The Monk will have the ability to move incredibly fast during battle, unleashing waves of devastating melee attack, in which enemies will be demolished by your feverish strikes before they’ve even really grasped what’s happening to them.

Blizzard said of the Monk character, “We wanted to add another melee character that was still hard-hitting, but lightning fast, to complement the raw strength and brutality of the barbarian. When we set out to design the monk, we wanted him to feel elegant and fluid, like something out of a fighting game. What we came up with is a holy warrior and martial artist who uses a unique arsenal of weaponry, hand-to-hand combat techniques, and a distinctive combo-based attack system.”

Blizzard is also rumored to be shopping Diablo III to consoles, considering a possible port of the upcoming PC sequel.  The only real problem being, how to change the interface so that Diablo III can still be played smoothly without a mouse/keyboard combo.  At any rate, multiplayer over Xbox Live on Diablo III would be freaking amazing, so I really hope this concept comes to life.  

So World Of Warcraft is about to get much, much better.  The newly announced expansion, Cataclysm, is making some pretty big promises of awesomeness, when it’s release finally comes about.  First up, two new races.  Horde will finally have an answer to the lame and annoying Gnomes of the alliance, with their new playable race, Goblins.  For the Alliance, a much more badass and cool looking race with the announcement that the Worgen will be bolstering their ranks.  No real details as to the stat bonuses and penalty’s they will receive, but new races are always exciting.

Also announced is the addition of flying mounts to Azeroth.  Finally those awesome flying mounts will be available in the bigger areas of the game, where it really makes sense for you to have them.  Blizzard promises a whole slew of new dungeons, monsters, and a new level cap of 85.  All brought to you by the Cataclysm.

All in all I’m definitely interested in Warcraft again.  Completely interested.  

New screenshots for Id Software’s upcoming shooter Rage have been released today.  As you can see the game looks to be shaping up pretty well at this juncture.  Rage of course will feature Id’s trademark beautiful visuals, and unnamed hero, of which you’ll have to take the reins, to battle through a post apocalyptic wasteland.  Of course the game has many similarities to Fallout 3, both in appearance and concept, but so far Rage is shaping up to be much more. 

First off, I’m trusting Id to provide better shooter gameplay than Fallout 3, in which all of the shooting combat never feels as precise as it should.  Fallout 3 had some disappointing graphical moments, as well as some unsatisfying combat scenarios that could have been much better.  If Rage is just a shoddy copy of Fallout’s concept in a different body, at least it will have much improved graphics, and Id’s years of FPS experience backing.  Not to mention the driving portion.

Rage is promising huge environments, nonstop action, unsurpassable driving and shooting combat seamlessly blended together.  Not to mention none of the awful Id trademarks of years past.  Like monsters that pop out of nowhere around the next corner, or from an innocent looking air vent.  Yeah, it was kinda scary at the time, but I think we’ve all evolved beyond those sort of tactics.  

 Lionhead Studios has confirmed that Fable III is currently in development, and will be released sometime next year.  The details that have been released up till now tell us that Fable III takes place  about five decades after the events of Fable II.  You take on the role of the child of your Fable II hero.  Which means you start out as either king or queen of the lands, watching evil slowly work it’s way back into Albion, which you’ll have to quell or embrace to restore the kingdom and unite the people.

Microsoft Game Studios’ European studios director Peter Molyneux has said that players should expect more involved moral choices from Fable this time around.  Which means your morality will be pushed to the limits as you quest to restore your kingdom and fully reclaim your right to be king or queen.  You’ll have much tougher choices that will have much larger impacts on the entirety of your people and the lands that they inhabit.  You’ll have to unite your kingdom by emerging as a true leader, through your choices and the example that you set.  Or else let the kingdom crumble through your own injustices and lack of heroism. 

Let’s hope they get Xbox Live co-op right this time around.  That whole playing as a generic character and not being able to venture more than 20 feet from each other crap was annoying as hell.  Why is it so hard to make games that friends can play together on Xbox Live???  So few get it right unfortunately…

I don’t understand Microsoft’s tactic here, according to game retailers the Xbox producer is no longer going to include HDMI or even component cables with new purchases of the Xbox 360 Elite system.  So for paying the extra dough to get the best version of the system, you will no longer be able to play 360 games in HD right out of the box, without purchasing an overpriced HDMI or component cable for your Xbox.  I don’t particularly understand that.  One of the biggest selling points for the Elite, and for Xbox itself, is HD functionality.  If you destroy that by selling the console with only composite cables, I think that’s a bit misleading and unfair to new Xbox customers.

But that’s not as bad as the other plan Microsoft has.  The Xbox 360 Arcade bundle, the cheapest form of 360 as it’s packaged without any sort of hard drive whatsoever, is reportedly getting a price hike.  Yes the Arcade will be more expensive, and will no longer include five free Xbox Live Arcade games.  So basically the Arcade just isn’t worth your time at all anymore.  Lovely of you Microsoft. 

Oh and apparently all accessories are going to be getting a slight price hike as time goes on.  The economic crisis hitting Microsoft?  Or is this just a rich company being greedy and wanting to screw the consumer out of more money after we’ve supported the company for a very long time running now?

After seeing the trailer for Lost Planet 2, and how unbelievably awesome the sequel to one of the 360’s best action games is looking, I’m really excited by Capcom’s announcement today that the first demo for Lost Planet 2 will be released on Xbox Live, and PSN August 19th.  The demo will feature a co-op battle with one of the many gigantic Akrid bosses from the game, and will be playable either locally or via Xbox Live.  I wish the demo would feature an entire level, or at least something more fun than just a boss battle, as that seems like it would be over much too quickly.

I strongly dislike game demos that don’t give you a proper feel for the game.  Like Batman: Arkham Asylum.  You get a taste for what AA is all about, but you don’t really get to experience the full game.  Right after you get going and feeling badass as Batman, then BA BOOM boss battle cut scene, and the end of your playing time.  How do you not include the boss battle in the demo?

Give Batman’s free flowing combat system, I wonder how that factors into a boss battle, and how your tactics need to change, and what the game gives you to go about tackling a bigger enemy than the standard foes you have to face throughout the game.