Gaming Addict

World of Warcraft looks like the next game to join in the micro transaction craze, as Blizzard has just opened the Pet Store for business.  Through the pet store Blizzard plans to release all manner of cuddly creatures that you can take with you on your journeys.  Of course these won’t affect gameplay in any way, besides having a different pet available that you can’t find in game.  The part I can’t understand is why the price point is set at $10 per pet. 

Why would you pay $10 for something anyone can get, and that doesn’t affect gameplay at all?

The two pets currently available are the Pandaren Monk and a mini Lich pet version of Kel’Thuzad.  The Pandaren Monk will feature brand new crazy martial arts animations, guaranteed to entertain I guess.  While Kel’Thuzad apparently flexes his wrath against the various woodland critters that cross your path. 

I suppose both of those qualify as being entertaining, but are we talking $10 worth of entertainment?  I’d rather spend a portion of that on a game rental, so I could have better entertainment for my gaming bucks.  I just don’t think the price justifies what you’re getting in return.  You could buy any one of a zillion great Xbox Live Arcade games for that…way more fun than a pet you have no control over, and that doesn’t help you in combat. 

In the growing tradition of other stellar titles, BioWare has announced a special Collector’s Edition release for Mass Effect 2.  The Mass Effect CE will cost you an extra $10 on Xbox 360 and PC, with the Xbox version priced at $69.99 and PC $59.99.  The whole set comes in a premium steel case that will include the following special items:

-48 Page Hardcover art of Mass Effect book.

-Unique DLC content, including weapons and armor only available through the purchase of the Collector’s Edition.  

No word yet as to what weapons and armor will be included.  But knowing BioWare it will be something awesome.  I know in addition to those CE armor items, I’ll also have access to the Blood Dragon Armor for buying Dragon Age: Origins.  I just hope the DLC is worth an extra $10, because I’ll probably end up buying this, but I never care much for art book collections or behind the scenes features.

Here’s to hoping for more badass guns, bigger explosions, and much more effective armor.  

The collector’s edition package for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has finally been released, and dubbed the Ultimate Sith Edition.  This set includes the original game, as well as all of the DLC that has been released for Force Unleashed up to now.  That means here you get the Tatooine and Jedi Academy levels, as well as an exclusive to this edition Hoth level. 

 I remember being disappointed in both the Tatooine and Jedi Academy levels, especially considering how much they cost via Xbox Live, and how little gameplay they had to offer.  All in all I’m just not sold on The Force Unleashed.  I know the game sold horrendously well, but it still wasn’t a spectacular Star Wars game.  Rather, Force Unleashed was a glimpse into how great of a game we could have had if Lucasarts had put in a little bit more time and effort. 

Everything just felt overly simplified.  From the lightsaber combat, to the way your force powers function.  Everything could have used some polish.  Here you get that same unpolished experience, with three new levels.  This collection isn’t worth buying if you already have purchased the DLC levels.  But if you’re new to Force Unleashed, or haven’t sprung for the DLC, maybe the Ultimate Sith Edition is for you.

Just don’t expect a spectacularly different experience.  

Borderlands isn’t without it’s share of problems.  Actually, Borderlands has many games share of problems.  Seems there are more than a few bugs that Gearbox Software hadn’t fully worked out before the game shipped, leaving many gamers to suffer their wrath.  These bugs range anywhere from minor glitches, like ammo clip shortages.  To much more devastating bugs that cause your save files to be corrupted, and your skill points to be reset.  

Of course most of these are tied to multiplayer.  Many players have reported disappearing loot, experience, and many other glitches upon entering and exiting a multiplayer session.  Considering one of Borderlands big selling points is the awesome drop in-drop out co-op, this is a pretty severe problem.

Gearbox maintains that they are hard at work on fixing all the bugs, and you can keep up on the details via their forums a:

http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=77748

For now Gearbox’s list of  known issues is as follows:

Both Consoles

Issue: (360, PS3) Save file is corrupted
Frequency: Very Low
Status: A fix is being investigated

360 only

Issue: (360) Aim-assist does not toggle on and off properly
Frequency: Very Low
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

PS3 only

Issue: (PS3) The console freezes during play
Frequency: Low
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

Issue: (PS3) Error codes displayed when attempting to sign into multiplayer
Frequency: Low
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

Issue: (PS3) Frame rate drops in a game with 3+ players
Frequency: Moderate
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

PC

Issue: PC users experience a “General protection fault” error
Frequency: Low
Status: This issue is being investigated

Issue: PC version locks up in server browser
Frequency: Low
Status: The cause of this issue has been identified and a solution is being investigated

All Platforms

Issue: Lilith’s Phase Strike not functioning as intended
Frequency: n/a, all users
Status: A fix is being investigated

Issue: Skill points or items disappear, or skill points are gained, usually after a multiplayer game
Frequency: Low
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

Issue: Weapon proficiency progress is lost upon leaving a multiplayer game
Frequency: Moderate
Status: The cause of this problem is being investigated

The next downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV hits the market next week, and what’s a new Grand Theft Auto release without some controversy?  Apparently Rockstar feels that they must keep pushing the limits of what could offend anyone, concerning the content in their games.  The newest spark arises from the inclusion of sex scenes aplenty in the upcoming The Ballad of Gay Tony. 

Reportedly the sex scenes do not contain any nudity, and only featured fully clothed characters.  But considering a large portion of the storyline takes place at a night club, those sex scenes will most likely be peppered generously throughout.  Also, after having pushed the boundary in The Lost and Damned, there’s going to plenty of digital cutscene penis once more.  

I’m sure we all remember the shock of meeting Congressman Stubbs for the first time, during his massage, in which he chose to allow his flaccid penis to breathe throughout the cutscene. 

Expect more of the same I guess.  So if videogame sex and flaccid penises offend you, The Ballad of Gay Tony might be something you want to avoid. 

So I just played Wolfenstein for Xbox 360, and wow was that a bad game.  Normally I try to be more professional in my assessments of a game, but I just can’t muster anything beyond saying that Wolfenstein was severely disappointing.  The whole campaign just felt very unimaginative, given the power of the current generation of consoles, and everything else that is available on PC.  You’ve got an FPS here that feels like a port of an older game…but it isn’t. 

Everything from the textures to the fights with the bigger enemies just feels so hack.  When compared with games like Modern Warfare which is pushing the boundaries of FPS brilliance, Wolfenstein isn’t even worthy of an afterthought.  The textures look original Xbox quality at best, the AI seems right out of an older Xbox game as well.  The gameplay all feels like something you’ve done before in F.E.A.R., only with a worse presentation.

All in all, this is a rental if you must, but you’d be better served playing CoD 4 again while you wait for MW 2. 

I really wasn’t prepared to like Saw as a game.  I’m a big fan of the movie series, but normally games based on movies turn out to be terrible.  But what I got with Saw really impressed me more than I would have thought.  Of course the Saw game isn’t anything ground breaking or spectacular, but what you get is definitely worth of your play time.

The game starts out just like a Saw movie.  You’re introduced to the game’s protagonist Detective Tapp, who finds himself in a rather precarious position.  The gameplay picks up with Tapp regaining consciousness in a dark room, finding that Saw’s famous reverse bear trap has been affixed to his jaw.  You are then tasked with matching the button sequences on the sides of the trap to disarm the reverse bear trap.  You’ll have to do that quickly, or else Tapp’s skull will be pulled apart in a nice little gory game sequence.  

The first trap is very easy of course, but serves as a good set up of things to come.  Not to mention, including one of Saw’s most popular traps in the first few moments of gameplay is a brilliant stroke to capture the feel of the movies.

The gore won’t make you feel as queasy as anything in the films, as the game’s graphics leave something to be desired.  But they do stand up just enough to disturb where intended.  All in all not a bad game, but once you’ve gone through the traps for the first time, you won’t need to do it again.  So I’d suggest renting Saw, because you’ll only play it once if you buy the game.  

BioWare has announced the official release date for Mass Effect 2, which is January 29th 2010.  Why a month after the holiday season I have no idea, as I would think that would have a negative effect on sales.  Aren’t most people going to be hurting from their holiday spending at that point, and essentially unable to afford another pricey game?  But maybe BioWare is figuring a lot of people will have received game gift cards that they’ll be itching to spend.

There are two different preorder bonuses available for Mass Effect 2, depending upon where you choose to preorder your copy of the game.  Some retails will offer a Terminus Gear in game DLC code.  The Terminus Gear will feature Terminus armor which can be used in the most harsh planetary conditions at maximum effectiveness.  Also featured in the pack is the M-90 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon, adding to the roster of ME 2 weapons that pack a bigger kick than anything found in the first Mass Effect.

The other DLC pack contains Inferno armor, which will give Commander Shepard an increase in running speed, as well as combat damage power augmentation.  All together effectively making you into a better killing machine. 

The DLC support for the Dragon Age: Origins launch continues, as BioWare has announced another package.  Titled Warden’s Keep, BioWare will be releasing this DLC the same day as DAO, November 6th.  Warden’s Keep will feature a brand new dungeon based quest, six new abilities, new items, and a base where you can trade with merchants.  The story will see the player venturing to an ancient fortress once used by the Grey Wardens.  The pack is announced to have a price point of 560 MS points, or roundabout $7.

This is in addition to the already announced free DLC that BioWare is offering to anyone who purchases a new copy of Dragon Age: Origins.  With any new purchase you’re receive an exclusive character, and the coveted Blood Armor which will be usable in Dragon Age as well as Mass Effect II, also developed by BioWare.  The Stone Prisoner pack features a stone golem character that will be available for use in your party from the beginning of the story.  Apparently the stone golem is a pretty formidable foe, and even if you don’t use him, it’s worth getting the free DLC for the option.

I like what BioWare is doing here.  Providing plenty of support for the game right out of the box.  More developers could learn from this example, and I hope they will.  I just hope BioWare gives better support to Dragon Age than Mass Effect has gotten.  I’m not exactly impressed with the two DLC packs available to Mass Effect.  I’m hoping for something more spectacular from Dragon Age down the line, after I finish the 70+ hour campaign. 

Valve has announced the fourth game mode to be included in Left 4 Dead 2, called Scavenge.  In the Scavenge mode two teams of four players each, pitted against each other in round based game modes.  In each round one team will take the role of zombies and survivors respectively.  The survivors are tasked with locating enough gas cans to power a generator located on the map.  The zombie team is tasked with using any means necessary to stop the survivors from starting that generator, whether by attacking the survivors, destroying the gas cans, or running out the clock.

As a survivor each gas can you collect and successfully deposit into the generator will add time to the clock.  Enough gas cans starts the generator and you win the round.  The infected players will have the option of playing as the new infected bosses, including the new additions Jockey, Spitter and Charger.  Each team will have a chance at being both survivors and infected once per round.  

To me sounds like a very twisted version of single flag CTF to me, and that’s not a bad thing.  I like to see companies like Valve trying new things like this, while keeping a firm foothold on what makes multiplayer shooter combat so fun.  Innovation is great, just don’t forget what makes for good multiplayer.  Some games get much too bogged down in trying new things.  I’m glad Valve has a comfortable combo of new and old, making L4D 2 every bit as good as the first Left 4 Dead.  Maybe even better actually.

Too bad releasing an entirely new game, instead of DLC updates as promised, Valve will be splitting the audience of available players.  Now you’ll only have a smaller portion of people available, as some will be playing the L4D new DLC packs, while others move on to Left 4 Dead 2.