RAAM’S Shadow

 

Gears of War fans rejoice this Christmas as we get more campaign action! I think the Gears of War website sums of the general statement of what to expect.

 

“Set in the chaos of post-Emergence Day Sera, RAAM’s Shadow drops players into a new team of Gears known as Zeta Squad, as they attempt to evacuate Ilima City and protect the citizens against a Locust Kryllstorm. Taking on the infamous Locust leader General RAAM from the original Gears of War, Zeta features the familiar faces of Michael Barrick (from Gears of War comics fame), Lt. Minh Young Kim (Gears of War), Tai Kaliso (Gears of War 2), and introduces a new female comrade, Alicia Valera.

In addition to fighting as a new squad of Gears, players will step into the boots of RAAM himself and do the unthinkable: storm a human stronghold from the perspective of one of the series’ most legendary bosses.” - http://gearsofwar.xbox.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds fun right? Well you would be correct! I just finished this little over 3 hour escapade down memory lane along with new sights and well yeah sights! This brings back memories of playing the first Gears especially with the Kryll. It feels like your back playing the old school Gears of War and yet it has all the updated elements of the latest-giving us a truly emerged experience. While I don’t want to spoil the plot and story arcs, I must say it was pleasantly surprising to run into one character, whom I shall not name for spoiler sake, before he joins the COG and this shows us why I picks up the Lancer. Also on the fun side is playing as RAAM! Wow, it’s like your darn near invincible (Sorry Stark) and tearing through COG defenses and their stronghold like a stroll through the park. Seriously, you don’t move that fast as RAAM and you only have the Kryll as a long range weapon and a gnarly looking knife to impale those that get close! And that last chapter gets to be very dark and I’m not just talking about the ambience! This is worth downloading for 1200 MS Points. And let’s not forget you get the option of standard campaign or Arcade with just yourself or up 4 player co op.

Wait! That’s not all? We also get more achievements worth another 250g. Six new multiplayer characters that are featured in the campaign and a chocolate weapon skin pack. Yummy! And for the multiplayer madness the Gear’s team has their ongoing 12 days of Gearsmas with special playlists and events along with some giveaways. Check out all the details at http://epicgames.com/community/2011/12/twelve-days-of-gearsmas-giveaways-day-three/

Xbox Companion

 

Windows Phone 7 users got a nice treat with the launch of the new Xbox Companion App. It’s a pretty simple app that allows us to view some content, play it on the Xbox 360 and we can also use it to navigate the dashboard. I think that is very useful, especially if I’m going to watch a movie instead of playing a game.

It’s free on the marketplace and easy to get setup and ready to use. First download the app, then go to the Console Settings on your Xbox 360 and tell it the companion is available. That’s it! The app will log on and you can use it any time your Xbox 360 is turned on with you logged in.

We have a few screens that we swipe our finger to get to. The main screen is the home screen which shows us the game we are playing and or recent games. We can get more info on the games here and also update our beacon. Under the info for that game you can swipe to the left to give us the friends screen and like the same screen on the Xbox 360 dashboard, it shows who’s playing. Swipe again to view your achievements for the title and tapping each achievement icon shows more detail. This can be helpful if you need to view your achievements real quick to determine what your missing.

If we then tap the button in the lower left that looks like a house, we get transported back to the home screen and swiping left get’s us to the featured screen. A great way to browse for the latest content available with all the info needed right there. There is also an option to search via Bing for content. But then again, my favorite feature is the little button in the lower right. Tap it to bring up a directional pad with the A button directly below and below the A is you X Y B button. This let’s us tap away on the phone and move about the dashboard on the big screen.

While it may seem to come up short on features, the Xbox Companion does indeed do a great job of showing us content, achievements, and giving us some control. Yes, this is a worthy app for users of both Xbox 360 and WP7!

Two Spideys, One Cataclysmic Event

As far back as I can recall I’ve always held Spider Man as my favorite super hero. Maybe it’s because I can relate to the Peter Parker as the higher IQ than normal, but not quite Reed Richards level, or the hazing and being picked on in school (not quite as much as Parker) or maybe it’s because we both like to dress up and fight crime. Well, I guess that last one is a stretch. I’ve also always liked spiders in general. With this mindset I’m usually willing to give a Spider Man game a chance. I found last years Shattered Dimensions fun and challenging. And based on my experience with Shattered Dimensions I was excited to pick up Spider Man Edge of Time.

And over the past few weeks when time permitted, I played through the campaign. First I must commend them on the story. The story is well written even though you can’t help but see where a few things were headed. On the other hand, we get some twists and turns that just about made my head spin! Without giving any spoilers, the basic premise is to try and save the world from a time paradox or disturbance that takes place with both our friendly neighborhood Peter Parker and the futuristic Spider Man 2099. They have to work together and you play one then switch to the other and then back again and again throughout. That’s after saving Peter Parker at the beginning of the game.

The controls are fluid and work almost perfect, much as they did in Shattered Dimensions. Crawling on walls is my only major problem here as it is too easy to get turned around or stuck. It was also easy to be running along and find your self starting to climb up a wall. The web swinging works very well and the combat system us still pretty sweet.

How does it look and sound? It looks good, I can’t complain. The in game graphics look good with only a few rough areas here and there. It’s not super realistic, but it does have a good cartoonish/comic feel. The cut scene animations on the other hand are stunning! Almost life-like and at a glance could be mistaken for live action. The voice acting was fair, with both Spider Men sounding almost too much alike. You can hear the difference when they speak to each other, but it other parts of the game you have to think about who is speaking. Sound effects and soundtrack blended perfectly. 

Starting the game sets you on normal by default and this will give most of us a challenge. Once you beat it on normal, you can try hard. Easy on the other hand was too easy. I would suggest playing on normal unless you have trouble. Most villains in this game, save for bosses, are fairly easy to defeat as long a you don’t get hit. The bosses on the other hand require a little more skill and timing. Levels range from running through levels defeated bad guys, collecting orbs, spiders and keys to free falling through buildings trying to avoid getting hit. The latter can be very challenging.

As you progress and earn orbs and gold spiders you can upgrade both Spider Men’s Combat skills and health. Each Spidey has a different special ability you can use and different fighting moves. Even so it’s not difficult to remember most of the moves. We also can unlock alternate costumes and news paper articles throughout the game.

As normal I played this on the Xbox 360 and most of the achievements are story based and combat based. You should be able to unlock quite a few just by beating the game. There are a few tough ones, like completing the game on hard and collecting all the golden spiders. That last one just takes time to look everywhere, but otherwise shouldn’t be too rough.

All in all the game is fun and challenging, but the fighting system does get tedious and I did run into a few glitches. One that required me to restart a checkpoint. Somehow I was able to get into a small room without disabling the shield, thus once inside I could not get back out. It did give me several hours of gameplay, I would estimate about 8 hours total including all those times I died. And then we do have challenges you can complete in each level as well. It’s not a bad game, but unless you’re a big Spidey fan like me – I would suggest renting it first. $59.99 isn’t exactly worth it this time around.

Duke Delayed, But Not Derailed

 

In a surprise twist (No not really) we get a short video from Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software telling us…well you better sit down first and watch for yourself.

Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software PSA

Now I am going to take this with a grain of salt, simply because of the way it is presented and well we are so close to April 1st. But be prepared. Duke Nukem Forever will get here and even if delayed another month, it’ll be worth the wait. At least after all these years it better be! What do you think? Sound off below.

Don’t forget to pre-order today!

Fable 3

Of late I have been playing a lot of Fable 3 and while I don’t agree that certain aspects of this game are necessary. There are some mature content that didn’t need to be there. That being said, the game as a role playing adventure is indeed fun.

I’ve run through the game twice now and now am simple running around completing some quests. I do however have some advice for those of you who are about to pick this game up or simply want to play again as a completionist. But remember to have fun.

First as you start the game, interact with other characters to get a few quick guild seals. Also combat will get you a few guild seals as well. Guild seals are very useful, but don’t be in such haste to use them. Way your options closely and choose wisely what you should spend them on.

What kind of King or Queen do you want to be? If you choose to be evil your gold will make little difference. However, should you choose good- you’ll need a very large piggy bank! Early on buy property and business. You’ll have to unlock the option in road to ruin. Rent out your property and keep an eye on the maintenance. If the condition gets into single digit percentiles the repair the property. This will help ensure your rent keeps coming in. Also don’t fast travel- as you need time to build up that fortune. You’ll need around nine million gold when you get on the throne and have to make the right decisions.

While traveling, look around and explorer. There is Driftwood and the Sunset House that you otherwise might miss. Not to mention you’ll want to find all those keys, gnomes, books, flowers that will help you along your quest. There is also the Enigma that is a puzzle in and of itself. This Auroan temple has a lot to offer and it would seem many exit without all that lies inside.

Once you feel you have saved enough gold, go forth and buy some weapons, clothing and furniture. You’ll never know when you’ll need it.

But most importantly have fun!

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