Modern Warfare 3

 

Modern Warfare 3’s campaign starts us right smack in the middle of World War 3 which is also where Modern Warfare 2 ended. Of Course, we also get a multiplayer experience and the return of Special Ops. I will cover each in this review.

Let’s start with the campaign. We are reacquainted with Price and Soap along with some new characters. This is one thing that draws people in, characters who actually drive you and are not just random soldiers. It helps immerse you into the story. And the story does not disappoint, in fact it was very well written and ties things off very well. The gameplay controls and mechanics are back and familiar. The graphics looks better and the sound is spot on with no disappearing acts (thankfully). As far as the difficulty and enjoyment of the game I can say it was a fun ride and a good challenge. Not overwhelming, but challenging. We do have along the story a scene that may be disturbing to some and you get the option to skip. This is smart and help widen the appeal and acceptance of the game. It took roughly 6 hours to complete the campaign.

Special Ops is another challenge, but luckily we can bring a friend! Here we have some timed and objective based missions that fit along side the story of the campaign. These missions play like the campaign and offer three difficulties. They are indeed fun and challenging, too! Along with those mission we get a new option. This is survival mode and the easiest way to describe it is by comparing it with horde of Gears Of War or zombie mode of the previous Call Of Duty games. The differences being that you face off against waves of military enemies and can purchase weapons, equipment and aerial support as you earn points/monies by killing said enemies. This is one that you want a friend as it gets very challenging. All of the game modes in Special Ops also have a ranking system that is separate from multiplayer, but otherwise the same concept.

Big bad Multiplayer is back with 16 maps at launch and more coming via DLC.  Quite frankly multiplayer is everything we know and love from Modern Warfare 2 with a few changes. We now have strike packages which we can alter the way are kill streaks work. Assault Strike Package works in the traditional sense while Support Strike Package works in, well, a supporting role. Not only does dying not count against your Strike Package, these kill streak options provide much needed support on the battlefield. An example being ballistic vests that you can earn then drop for your team. Another addition is  the Weapon Rank system. Choose your weapon as as you get kills with it, it ranks the weapon up and unlocks proficiencies and attachments. Proficiencies allow things like less recoil, multiple attachments, stability, and less flinching when hit-just to name a few. Jumping in to multiplayer was rush, the graphical change blew me away. It looks great and feels much more responsive and faster, too!

And last but not least let’s talk about Elite. Elite is a new service both paid and free that allows you to get stats, change load outs, improve your skill and even compete with others for prizes. Those of us that paid for the yearly membership at $49.99 or 4000 MS points get even more access and a years worth of DLC included. A few other things to point out is that the service integrates into the game and in accessible on the Xbox 360 (or PS3) as well as online and even as a smartphone app (iPhone and android). This is a way to extend the community of MW3 and future Call Of Duty titles and help create an more immersive experience. It was unfortunate that the service was not available on launch do to some server issues, but Activision is giving all of us that paid for it an extra month free. Not bad at all.

All in all, I am impressed with Modern Warfare 3. It provided a fun, challenging, and frustration free campaign. A immersive and fun multiplayer experience along with the new Special Ops that are just as fun as the campaign. In my plays through (yes more than once) I encountered no glitches and in multiplayer I can only see the usual lag or AT&T DSL connection problems I get with most online games. Based on my experience playing this game and the fact that I will be returning to multiplayer again and again, I hereby give Modern Warfare 3 a score of 9 of 10. It’s not perfect but it sure comes close. Wink, Wink.

It Arrives

After a long wait, which I filled by playing other games like Call Of Duty: Black Ops, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, and Blur… We finally get some more DLC for Mass Effect 2. This new mission is called The Arrival and is centered around helping the Earth Alliance carry out a rescue mission. You are to go in alone as Sheppard and rescue an operative way out in the far reaches of the galaxy. Now I won’t go much further into details, lest I spoil someone. However, having just completed the mission this morning in just under 2 hours (I think), I will give you my impression.
First off, it’s challenging. You are going to die at least once and the new achievements are not guaranteed. The gameplay is the same familiar and fun experience that we are used to, but that it should be. The story of this mission is well written, except in a few scenes- I could tell by dialogue and character movements of what was going to happen next. Which is good in giving that sense of foreboding and yet no real surprise there. But fun indeed and for 560MS points on the Xbox 360 it is worth it. Go forth and play.

Aquaman Called, He Wants His Octopus Back!

While at E3, I got to check out Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions with Activision. And what I saw really looked good. Thus I took the bait and bought the game for my Xbox 360 and over the last two days have completed a little more than half the game at about four and a half hours of game play.

I ordered my copy from Amazon, which included an sketch art book. I quickly flipped through it and it was all artwork from the game and nicely done at that, then I noticed the last page had a cheat code. I haven’t used it yet, but it simply unlocks the Iron Spidey costume. The one made famous in the notorious Civil War comic series and a suit engineered by Tony Stark.

But what about the game? The basics of the story, without giving two much away, begins with Mysterio and his thirst for a power tablet. Spidey stops him, but shatters the tablet sending ripples through time and space and dimension and all that good stuff. And each level feels like that last run-on sentence, but more about that later. That spidey is are friendly neighborhood Amazing Spider Man and he is contacted by Madame Web. To hunt down the pieces and save the worlds. To aide him are his alternate reality versions in different dimensions and time. We have the sky diving freak of 2099, the hot headed Ultimate Spider-Man, and the quiet as a mouse with mouth Noir Spidey.

So let’s talk about these realities or dimensions or webs if you will. Amazing Spider-Man has a simple cell shaded cartoonish look to it. This is the Spidey we all know and love. 2099 is the a futuristic high in he sky world with a very detailed technological look. This Spider-Man has only half the DNA of a spider and well thinks he is a freak. Ultimate Spider-Man is a retelling of the story with Parker still being a teen and in this game ends up with the symbiote suit rather early in the story arc. Noir is the farthest from the know Spider-Verse. The best way to describe this is simple a comparison. I feel like I’m playing Batman with Spider powers in the 1930s. Dark, stealthy and quick wit. In fact every Spider-Man has quick wit. These four worlds intertwine to form one larger story. And to top of you’ll find some strange and unique version of your favorite villains.

What about the game play? Different. Spider-Man games have always had trouble in the area of bringing a balance of controls and proper abilities. And this one does it a little better, but still ends up in the same basket. You can swing a web, attack with web, jump, hit and box. Yes Box! First we get the third person player aspect and it works well. Then we get the attack combos of the fighting games and tons of them. Add a system for leveling up and using points to unlock even more combos and abilities. Then we get up close and personal with some boss you get to use the two thumb sticks to dodge and punch. And not just one type either. At first this seemed overwhelming, but I grew accustomed to it. I think I prefer the way Web Of Shadows was designed when it came to controls, especially when swinging around on a web.

The story is good, and it seems to be getting better. Dramatic and witty, this game keeps you on your toes. The cinematic pieces look great with that web comic motion mixed with standard CGI type animation. We also get a lot of achievements to complete but a vast majority seem to be the dreaded Secret Achievements. Good luck with those. I’m enjoying playing this game, though I likely won’t see it as much in replay value with the way the controls are setup, but maybe I’ll change my mind at the end of the game. Right now it is the story that drives me to complete it and the simple fact that I grew up with Spider Man comics. Not to mention, I think that was Spider-Pig mentioned in one scene.

In closing this game takes a good stride and step closer to bringing Spider-Man games where they need to be, but they still have a few steps to go. I would rate it a 7 out of 10. Fun to play, but most levels get somewhat repetitive as you battle a boss, then his minions, then chase, the repeat and once in a while rescue people. You tend to battle a boss three times, the third time being when the boss is the most powerful. I would say for those hard core Spidey fans buy it, the rest of you go rent it first or try GameFly!

The EDF Wants You

How would you react to an invading force of giant alien ants? If I were Hank Pym I would simply step on them, all of them. But alas, these creatures are called Ravagers and we don’t have Mr.. Pym. We do however have a soldier from The Earth Defense Force armed with two weapons at any given time. I should take a moment to point out, least anyone be confused, The Earth Defense Force should not be mistaken for the Robotech Defense Force as that is of a different story and different people and aliens. Like the A-Team, if you can find them or rather it-Let’s go shoot some bad guys (yes, alien bad guys).

What is all this about? It’s a little gem of a video game I was introduced to at the Anime Conji convention. It was released here in North America back in March 2007; previously it had been released in Japan. It’s a budget title and is now the way I like my steak-rare. It’s actually a sequel to Global Defense Force, which was never released here in the states. Did you guess the title? That’s right folks. Earth Defense Force 2017.

While I waited on Jorge to compete in one of his video game tournaments, I sat down and played this odd looking game on the Xbox 360 console. At the time I didn’t know a thing about it. It looked interesting and fun, so why not, Right? Right was indeed correct! It turned out to be mildly addicting. Let us take a good look into this game.

You are an EDF soldier and you can play co-op or with yourself (pun intended). Your armed with two weapons which can be upgraded any of 150 different weapons by collecting upgrades and playing higher difficulties. Did I mention there are 5 difficulty levels? Yep and you have 53 levels to get through. And I’ll be honest; it is not an easy task at even the normal difficulty setting. You can also collect armor, which adds to your overall health one point per armor collected. There are even a few vehicles you can access.

Your enemies are crazy and your odds of beating them are slim. You will face giant ants, robots, spiders, and UFOs. You literally have levels of hundreds of these aliens attacking you. Wave after wave, in some cases they never seem to stop. It’s crazy. The environment is destructible without penalty. So go ahead and let the buildings crumble as you go. I played through about 5 levels in about 2, maybe 3 hours without dying. It was not easy with so many enemies at once.

The game play was simple controls, very easy to work with. Basically run, jump, and shoot. The graphics are average, nothing special and the movement can be clumsy at times. The voice acting was poor as is most games that are translated from Japanese. What more can I say? Other than a few short falls which are typical of budget games, this game delivered a fun filled gaming experience. Sure some will get bored with the lack of story or seemingly endless combat and destruction, but I feel it is an awesome game for the average gamer. If you can find it, go ahead and pick it up- I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Wayne Thomson