Until now.

I picked up Kingdoms of Amalur not too long after its release on Amazon and originally hoped to be able to activate the game on Steam. It turned out that I was not able to to activate it, so I had to just simply install it through ORIGIN. I’ve spent a fair amount of time with it over the past few weeks, as KOA is primarily what I’ve been playing, so I thought I would give some of my thoughts on ORIGIN from my experiences with it.

I personally have found the layout to be very clean and easy to navigate. It really helps that the primary color scheme is on the lighter side.  That is one of the few things that I do occasionally dislike about Steam’s interface; the black color scheme makes it hard to see things every once and a while for me.

As far as functionality goes, navigating and viewing things in the store is about the same as Steam, though it can be simpler to find things in ORIGIN’s store just by browsing simply because it has fewer games.  I do give Steam a major advantage regarding friends lists; ORIGIN’s is extremely simple, but not very detailed thus far.  I much prefer Steam’s customize-able friends list, and also the information pages on Steam allow a lot more customization from what I’ve experienced.  Another area where I much preferred Steam was the In-Game overlay.  Until recently, ORIGIN did not have one, but with an update in the past couple of weeks, EA added one.  I have not played around much with it, but it has the same basic things as Steam’s does: web-browser, friends list, etc.

Finally, bugs and other problems.  I have over the time I’ve used it had a few problems with Steam; nothing extremely major that I can remember, and most were ironed out fairly quickly with patches.  So far ORIGIN has been largely trouble free for me. I’ve only had one major issue, and honestly, I am more to blame than ORIGIN.  I had purchased Kingdoms of Amalur on Amazon and tried to to activate it on Steam, but the code wouldn’t activate, so I simply downloaded the game and started the install process.  However, my computer restarted for some updates while the installer was waiting for input midway through the process, so when I tried to install it after that ORIGIN would give me an error.  Ultimately I had to re-download the entire file, and while it took a long time, I can’t really blame it on ORIGIN.

So while I do wish I could have everything in one place, ORIGIN isn’t the worst piece of software in the world.  I’ve definitely seen worse, and it is not that much of a hassle for me to have a second program running.

I just recently played through the single player campaign of Battlefield 3 and gave this general impression on twitter: “Battlefield 3 has the worst FPS single player campaign that I’ve ever played!” When I said this, I was saying it from a point of pure frustration with the game. But before I hit the “Tweet” button, I took a second to think about it. I then decided that I really did believe this.

***SIDE-NOTE: This is NOT the official Battlefield 3 review! Just the mad rantings of one insane mind***

I forced myself to finish the single player campaign for the only reason of being able to right this little blog/rant. I’ve put together several reasons that destroyed my experience with the single player…now granted, some of these points could easily be overlooked and forgiven, but in this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

If you enjoyed it, great! I’m glad someone did. But if you want to know my reasoning behind why this is the worst FPS single player campaign I’ve played, read on!

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1. Modern Warfare Wannabe:

Many of the following issues I think stem from this one problem: Battlefield 3 is trying too hard to be like Modern Warfare. As I sat and played the game I kept thinking how much it reminded me of Modern Warfare. This was not something that crossed my mind when playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BFBC2). The game seems more focused on its big cinematic delivery than its gameplay. No longer do you bring down a building using the destructive environmental mechanic. Instead the game breaks into a clearly scripted event. I could write a whole paragraph more as to why I feel this game is trying too hard to be like MW, but instead will just elaborate more in the next few points.

2. Poor Level Designs:

It's everyone's favorite character in video games, Mr. Follow!

Despite the huge maps in the multiplayer or previous BF titles, the SP maps are small and extremely limited. On top of this, there is very little room for using different strategies. In BFBC2, you could choose different ways to take out an enemy camp; sneak in under the huts, flank them from the side, snipe from a distance, or level them with RPG’s. With BF3, there is none of that. You pretty much run down a narrow lane, shoot at the bad guys, find some cover, and repeat. Try to deviate from it and you’re either rapidly gunned down by the enemy, or you just die for no apparent reason.

There is also a very high level of hand holding throughout the whole game. Doesn’t take long to realize you’re not really playing the game as much as you are being dragged through the game.

3. No Weapon Choice:

Sure, there are different weapons on a map, but these are from fallen enemies and comrades. Most of the time they aren’t any better or that much different than your standard weapon you were issued at the beginning of the map. Most of the time it is random luck you stumble across a gun you prefer. Like point #2 and most of the points on this list, a blatant reminder on how little control the developers want to give you.

4. Terrible Enemy Programming:

In short, the enemy programming is way too over aggressive, over accurate, and over powerful. Playing on Normal you think you were going up against Navy Seals for how accurate the enemy is. Enemies can easily see you far away in dark corners lying prone (when the only way you can see them is via a thermal scope). They can see through cover at you and know exactly where you are as well as many other things making enemies not feel challenging but rather very cheap instead.

They also are ridiculously accurate in their shooting. I understand if you’re going up against a company of highly specialized trained soldiers with acog scopes and advance weaponry. Most of the enemies you encounter are not elite agents nor have the latest modern weaponry, yet they can still hit you from half a mile away as if you were a magnet to bullets!

Don’t be surprised when enemies are hip-firing with an Uzi or Shotgun 100 yards away and you get pelted with bullets.

5. Terrible Friendly AI:

If you thought enemies were bad, Friendly AI is worse! Most of the time you will find them getting in your way rather than helping you. Most of the game is spent tagging behind them or waiting for them to catch up. Their abilities range from either doing everything for you (primarily at the beginning) to not being able to hit the broad side of a barn (most of the game). If they’re not blocking you from being able to take cover, they are stepping directly into your line of fire as you’re trying to take out the enemy. Their detection ability is terrible as well. Many times enemies will be less than 5 feet away from them and they will not detect it. They are literally the complete opposite of the enemy programming and are so useless you might as well be playing as a lone-wolf in all the missions.

6. Vehicles on Rails…Not Wheels:

Get use to being gunner more often than driver in this game.

One of the biggest differences between Modern Warfare and Battlefield has always been the vehicles. In BFBC2 you were able to race Mongoose ATV’s, drive tanks and jeeps, and much more. While there were some on the rails moments, most of the time, when you got a vehicle, you had full control of it. That is all but gone in BF3’s SP campaign. While you do get to load up in vehicles, most of the time they are on rails. There is only one time where you get full control and that is on a tank level which was shown at E3 2011 (and they eventually turn that into an on rails shooter by the end of it!).

Again, it’s just a constant reminder at how little control you have in the game.

7. Quick Time Events:

When quick time events first started being used in games, they brought certain elements of fun. This was probably because much of what could be done in games was limited, so it was a way to keep it interactive and not just becoming one big cut scene. Now they are hindering plague upon gamekind! Sadly, BF3 is riddled with many of them. It seems you are constantly running from one quick time event into another. Nothing kills the sense of excitement and tension as taking you out of control and making you do a quick button mashing.

The first 7 points make up my major issues with the game. The following are minor issues that if by themselves could have been overlooked. But because there are so many big problems, they make smaller problems even that much more annoying.

8. Pointless Tasks:

They choose Crazy Eyes Wilson to take over the mortar after you so kindly ran it all the way down a hill.

Prime example, it’s nighttime, someone yells at you to “mortar up!” and throws you a mortar cannon. You think, “Awesome, I get to shell the enemy!”. Soon you’re running down a hill along side a full platoon of soldiers into a city being lit up with mortar rounds, gun fire, and screams as your army tries to take it. You run to the designated mortar location to setup. You click and deploy it and just when you think you get to bring down the BOOM…….you are given a gun and told to climb over a wall to shoot the enemy with this pea shooter. Once over the wall, you’re told to shoot over the enemies heads so the mortar team (WHICH YOU JUST WERE AT AND SETUP) could shell the enemy. All that buildup, all that climaxing, reduced to becoming a bullet meat shield. This sums up much of the tasks you are given in the game.

War in general can be pointless at times, but I don’t think this game is deep enough to try to implant such a heavy metaphor or meaning within its gameplay.

9. Subtitles During Heavy Action:

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, heavy Russian accented English dialogue isn’t always the best to listen to in a game, but you know what it beats? Trying to read English subtitles as Russian teammates talk and give you commands in the middle of heavy combat THAT’S WHAT! It’s not like you’re an American who doesn’t speak Russian paired up with Russian soldiers. You play a scene as a Russian with two Russian Partners. Yes it’s most likely they would speak Russian, but don’t make me try to read what they’re saying while I’m trying not to die because of reason number #4.

What kills me is the fact that you later try to capture a key Russian black arms dealer and tap into his radio communications to listen in on his orders to his Russian security team…AND HE’S SPEAKING FRIGGIN ENGLISH!!!!! To add to this irony, it’s Americans who are trying to capture him and he is aware of it…makes perfect sense!!! NOT!

10. My Greatest Enemy: The Lightbulb:

These aren't flood lights blinding you. Regular street lights blinding the heck out of you.

If any horn was being tooted from EA and DICE about this game before its launch, it was how amazing the graphics were. While mostly true, there is a glaring issue I noticed. Maybe it’s just on the 360 or maybe it’s just me, but someone really messed up the lighting details with light bulbs. Almost every light source you see produces a glow around as if you were looking at the light through wet plastic goggles. Often it obscures and blinds your view. No other squad mates are wearing goggles. I guess you’re the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the battle field.

11. Can’t Open Doors:

Yet another thing making this game feel more like Modern Warfare is that you can never open doors freely. Doors are most often opened or breached by squadmates who you must follow. On top of that, there usually isn’t a room full of bad guys on the other side either. It serves more of a loading time for the next boring straight and narrow path. Just another reminder at how much on a leash you are in the game.

12. Can Be Killed By a Rat:

Video link explains it all. Most humiliating death in a FPS I can think of. Warning: Potential offensive hand sign at 0:40 seconds into video.

Battlefield 3: Campaign: Death By Rat

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In all honesty, BF3 probably isn’t the worst FPS single player ever made. Don’t get me wrong! I love love love LOVE the multiplayer part of Battlefield 3 and feel you definitely get your money’s worth with the multiplayer component. But with big names behind it such as Dice and Electronic Arts, it’s really sad to see a game come out copying another franchise and abandoning many of the things that made single player enjoyable (and bearable) in previous titles.

How does this city simulator stand up against the behemoth that is SimCity? You know how to find out by now.

Among the hardcore city building sim players SimCity is held upon high as being the ultimate in the genre. Even though most called it one of the best games out there Will Wright, creator of the franchise, said that it had gotten a little too complex, which lead to Tilted Mill’s SimCity Societies. But what does this have to do with CitiesXL 2012? Quite a bit actually.

Originally, when CitiesXL was released it was supposed to be more of an MMO style game in which you set up your city on a planet, with other players setting up cities on the planet as well. You could then travel to other people’s cities to get a look at what they are doing, to bring back ideas to your own city. You can also negotiate different trade deals, for more than just electricity, water, or waste, like you could in SimCity. The only issue was the game was shut down shortly after it’s release, due to lack of subscriptions.

Need a coffee?

It was later bought out by Focus Home, who took the concept of the MMO and paired it all down into a beautiful single player format. CitiesXL 2012 takes things a step further by giving it’s fan base the ability to openly modify the game, and by helping those new to the series with a starting tutorial that allows them to get a feel for the intricacies of the game.

The interface and gameplay are a simpler form of what you would find in SimCity, except nothing is lost from the depth of the game. In fact, I dare say it, there is more depth in this game than in any SimCity game I have ever played. You aren’t just given a simple plot of land and told to build a city.  You are given a plot of land and you are told to sculpt out the best city that would fit the land you have, be it some place on the coast or mountain town looking to capitalize on tourism, or a land that is in the middle of a fertile plain, begging for man to till and grow food.

Yes, I am saying that you can actually have a city specialize in one specific thing, and you can build other cities around it to help that city survive. The farming city can trade the food it produces to other cities, in return getting some other resource it needs.  Each city will have it’s own set of resources from farming, to oil fields, all of which can be traded between cities.  Not just the industrial things either, but also something as mundane as office space, and manufacturing.

Look at all that farm land.

This gives a unique spin on the genre in turn giving a load of depth to the game that I had never expected. Not only that, but a lot of the more tedious functions that you would find in SimCity have been removed from the game.  Having to lay down power lines, water pipes, and subway tunnels piece by piece have been made a thing of the past.  I hated nothing more than going into “underground mode” only to screw things up.  CitiesXL stream lines it and makes it easier to manage.

Some of the depth it has to offer comes from the placement of the different zones you have access to. Things aren’t just as simple as residential, commercial, and industrial any more.  You know have different types of each zone, from different “classes” of residential zones, to different types of industrial zones.  It gives you the ability to even further specialize how your cities are built, and what their function is.

Not only do you have the ability to say what goes into what zone, you can also set up special buildings from different cultures and time periods.  I have an old world section of one of my cities that is all medieval style residences and shops.  The city itself isn’t American style roads either, I’ve made it almost as confusing as it is to drive around the English Country side.  I just need to figure out how to get the roundabouts working within the game (oh yeah they are in there and they do drive on the left!). There are a few different themes of buildings based on culture and just where they are located.

Old School buildings.

While it does have a lot of things going for it, it does get a little lonely playing it. I know that I am shaping the entire game world, but having a friend or two be able to join me would be nice. I am not looking to have hundreds of people come into my world to set up their own cities, though I do regret not playing it when it was an MMO, that would have been awesome if you ask me. I would be more keen about it if i could show my friends more than just a few screen shots, and have their cities right there next to mine.

It doesn’t do one thing that we all loved with SimCity, there are no destruction tools. We can’t summon up UFO’s to abduct our people, or cause meteors to hurl themselves from space into the middle of our city.  I loved that about SimCity, and I wish it was in this game. Even just deleting the entire city was more epic in SimCity when you could here the screams of the people. And with that, I truly see how twisted of a person I am.

Overall I am enjoying the game and I don’t see why most of you, and I’m not just talking about the people that love building cities, would just pass this one up. The game is really accessible and has an easy to manage learning curve.  I am also looking forward to seeing what comes out of the modding community for the game.

With 100s of unique buildings and plenty of game play elements the price is right for this style of game.  If you are into this genre, looking to try this genre out, or are just tired of SimCity 4, give it a go.

More Than Two Sides

Despite the delusion that these two games are the sole combatants waging war for your time and money this fall, it is undeniable that a large portion of the multiplayer market will be invested in these two titles this fall.  In addition to Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, there are more than 80 games releasing during the fall/winter season of 2011, many of which will also feature multiplayer components.  Knowing the $59.99 price point that each of these games carries, choosing one or both of them will part from you $60-120 dollars, along with the gobs of time you will spend playing online.  Both games are very similar-modern military shooters, both carrying their own innovations, new graphics and unique features.  Rather than pick up one or both of these games, I would rather spend my time playing two games already released this fall, and both featuring their own rich and vibrant multiplayer experiences.  These games are Red Orchestra 2 and Nuclear Dawn, retailing at $39.99 and $24.99, respectively.  Those price points means that you can snatch both of these great games for the same amount of money you would pay for one of the above mentioned military shooters, with tax included.

Nuclear Dawn

This is the less robust of the two games I’ve mentioned, but there are some pretty major free updates coming in the future.  Nuclear Dawn takes on the task of incorporating RTS elements into a multiplayer FPS, with astounding success.  One player from each side dons an RTS Commander role, building structures from a map overview, while the players fight on the ground over control points and resource points.  The game is set in a post-apocalyptic future, with a new twist on the common classes featured in most multiplayer games.  Nuclear Dawn features four classes—Exo, Support, Assault and Stealth—each giving the player a choice of a kit within that class.  Do you like the Sniper role?  Well, you can take the Assault Class Sniper Kit and use the advantage of thermal vision and slightly better armor, or take the armor penalty of the Stealth Class equipped with a Sniper Kit, and trade that thermal vision for a cloaking ability.  Assault is by far the most versatile, allowing a typical rifle kit, sniper kit and grenade launcher kit.  Sadly there is no campaign mode, or single player mode with bots to help you sharpen your skills.  With only six maps and one game mode, it’s debatable that Nuclear Dawn may be perceived as a holdover until the release of MW3 or BF3.  Still, with some major game changing updates being promised by it’s developer, InterWave Studios, and an already strong multiplayer experience, this is definitely going to be a game that monopolizes my time this fall.  Our review won’t go live for a couple days, but check out our preview of Nuclear Dawn here or our interview with InterWave Studios here.

Red Orchestra 2

Red Orchestra 2, from Tripwire Interactive, is a far reach from the modern battlegrounds of MW3 or BF3.  It portrays the Russian/German grudge match at Stalingrad in World War II.  Of course there’s been a very anti-WWII sentiment within gamers ever since COD4 first made it’s boot print on multiplayer shooters.  Gamers were too busy with COD4 to support the sales of Call of Duty’s own step back into WWII, but Red Orchestra 2 is not ‘just another World War II shooter’.  In addition to being the first game to allow players to fight on the Axis side of the war, RO2 has invested an amazing amount of detail in the historical accuracy and shooting mechanics of the game.  This is the first game where a weapons tutorial feels appropriate.  With each weapon you can dial in your sights to adjust for the range or your target and for bullet drop across that distance.  When aiming the cannons or machine guns of the game’s tanks, the same options for aim adjust is available.  An incredibly detailed and accurate damage system makes most shots an instant kill, and makes the player stick to more strategic options, rather than just a run-and-gun mentality.  You soldier is affected by morale–seeing his squad mates cut down or being pinned by suppressive fire will affect your vision and accuracy and make you more vulnerable to damage.  There is a rich single player campaign that allows you to practice these skills on both sides of the battlefield, before trying your abilities out online.  With amazing in-game tension, alone or online, and the grit and primitive feel of older weapons, Red Orchestra 2 is really hard to put down.  For more detailed thoughts, you can read my review here.

Fair Comparison

I certainly don’t doubt that both MW3 and BF3 will feature rich gameplay elements and complicated perks, customization and innovation over their previous iterations.  I also acknowledge that the mainstream appeal of MW3 and BF3 will certainly be greater than that of Nuclear Dawn and Red Orchestra 2, especially since there won’t be console releases for the two games I spoke of in this editorial.  My intent was not to take a stab at the two military shooters debuting this fall, I’m sure they will both deserve the high sales figures they earn.  My point was to restate the obvious–that there are more options available to us this fall, and that while most people will be mulling over which game to buy in a few weeks, I am perfectly happy letting every one else fret over their choice while I spend some quality time with these two great examples of forward innovation and gameplay.  Enjoy your tour on whatever battlefield duty may call you to.  Nuclear Dawn, Red Orchestra 2 and I will still be here when you get bored.

The Storyline

You must choose—choose wisely.

If you are a Star Trek fan, than I guess you could retitle this game Darkspore : Away Team.  In essence, replace the Enterprise with Crogenitor, and replace your favorite captain, with yourself.  You take the helm, and, as you progress through the game, you unlock any of 25 heroes.  Building your team, you take up arms, against the evil Darkspore–creatures corrupted by the darkspore infection.  In this science fiction universe, you have limitless ability to customize and spec out your squad, sending them to different planets to investigate, and eventually eradicate, the Darkspore infection.  Each chapter and planet finished, offers new insight into the Darkspore, their motives and origins, and the course of actions you can take against them.

The Gameplay

You shall not pass!!!

True, there is great narration, between levels, to fill in the storyline of the universe, but it only serves as the wallpaper for what is a really addictive game.  At the beginning of the game, you have  a mere 3 heroes unlocked to fill the slots of your team, which only consists of 3 slots.  All of the 25 heroes come in 5 alignments, and belong to one of three classes, all of which I will explain in the quote balloon below.  Once all are unlocked, new enhanced versions of past heroes can be purchased, offering you a chance to get greater and more effective versions of your favorites, for the later levels and difficulties.  The game has three difficulty levels, and includes seamless co-op and, later, PvP modes, for alternate play.  At any time in the game, you can choose to bring outside help into your game, either from your friends list or through open matchmaking.  This is the crux of why, even DRM free, the game must have a constant internet connection to play.  Single player and multiplayer are completely interwoven, and everything from one facet carries over to the other—characters, items, customization, etc., and, as such, requires that added security to keep out griefers.  The game plays as a standard dungeon crawler; take your 3 hero team from one end of the map to the other, and survive the final encounter.  If only it were that simple, it would be a boring game.  Each game, item/bonus locations change, better loot fuels countless replays, and replaying a level is drastically changed by the game’s enhanced AI.  The game randomly chooses groupings of enemies from within all the alignments, and changes their strategy on the fly, making replays for better loot, much more interesting, and forcing the player to constantly be aware of their team makeup and strategy.  In addition, you gradually unlock the ability to chain longer groups of missions together, giving you more chances for higher level loot, should you survive the 4 or 5 level chain.  Co-op play, of course, also rewards much better items and weapons, with each player ‘rolling’ for each item uncovered.  The hero editor is just as much of a timesucker as the main game, offering an unending level of detail manipulation and customization, as well as different paint level customizations.  While inventory slots can be precious, it’s a pretty cool feature to be able to turn any item into a detail piece–stat perks are negated, but it offers many more options for your heroes to stand out.

Alignments -

Plasma – Masters of fire and electricity

 

Bio – Summoners and users of plants, poisons, animals and life-force drains/attacks

 

Cyber – Mechanical heroes attacking with bullets, explosive projectiles and energy

 

Necro – Harbingers of death, using fear and darkness to steal souls and twist reality

 

Quantum – Manipulators of matter, time and space

Classes -

Sentinel – Typical tank character type, high defense, high-damage offense, usually melee, slow movement

 

Ravager – More balanced stats, usually very quick, better ranged, but there are some melee versions

 

Tempest – These are more your ranged, support class characters, team stat buffs, etc; powerful but weaker

The Verdict

That's THREE coats of wax, right Biff? You sure?

If I am to be brutally honest, there are things I would like to see done differently, within the game.  Each hero has a printed backstory, but there is lack of connection and depth to their characters.  Environments do get recycled quite frequently, and many items do get a bit repetitive, within that alignment’s theme and overall appearance.  I would also, definitely, love to see more heroes available to be unlocked; granted, there is a huge amount of game time available, if you are to get familiar with all of the ins and outs of each of the 25, but more is always welcome, right?  Now that I have aired those thoughts, I would remind you that none of them takes away from what is a fantastic and highly addictive game.  Certainly, the levels have a knack for eating away the hours, you may finish a five level grind, and notice that it’s getting late.  If you think that’s where your night finishes, beware that the statement “I just want to equip a few items”, can also turn into an hour or more of playtime.  All told, Darkspore definitely exceeded my expectations, and I am anxiously awaiting the announcement of any available DLC containing new locations/heroes. The games addictiveness will keep you glued to your seat long enough to grow your own spores.  If you are looking for a change of pace, from the normal fantasy universe, dungeon-crawler, then Darkspore is the perfect addition to any PC gamer’s library.

You play as space pirate Grayson Hunt who is followed by his best bud Ishi Sato.  After finding out they were tricked into killing innocent civilians by their commanding officer General Sarrano, in which Hunt and his crew believed they were killing murderers and other scum of the world.  So it is no surprise that Hunt and Sato want their commanding officer dead.  Years later Hunt and Sato’s plane crashes on a planet called Stygia. Which is run by ruthless disgusting mutants that look like something out of the Hills Have Eyes movies.  After the crash, Sato is injured pretty bad and Hunt must track down a energy cell from an escape pod to put into Sato’s brain to save his life.  I’ll let you experience the rest to find out what happens, but the story is not whats going to make you keep coming back to Bulletstorm.  It’s the ridiculous extreme gameplay that awaits you after you arrive on Stygia.

Size does matter

One of the first things you’ll notice right away is how beautiful the game looks.  The environments and lighting truly looks stunning, and I was quite surprised.  Bulletstorm also does a good job of changing up each section of the game, so that you never get tired of seeing the same scenery over and over.  Aside from the eye candy, Bulletstorm is a very fast paced game.  You will constantly be blowing stuff up and kicking your way to the next area of mutants.  The variety of blood thirsty enemies you face will also change up quite a bit as you make your way through Stygia.  Some guys you can take down with a couple blows, while others will make you think in more creative ways to take down.  But the combat in Bulletstorm is the games bread and butter.  The game feeds on collecting Skillshots.  Skillshots are points that you collect by killing enemies in gruesome and unthinkable ways.  For example using your surrounding environments is a good way to collect points.  Some areas of the game will have things like cactus’s or flesh eating plants that you can kick those ugly buzzards into to gain some serious skillshot points, and not too mention saving some ammo.  Fairly early on in the game you come across a device that slips on your hand called a Leash.   Its basically just like it sounds, if you point that at a enemy it will shoot them towards you in slow motion and will allow you to do whatever you want with them.  You can simply shoot them and move on, but it is much more fun and recommended to think of creative ways to take them out.  This is some of the most fun the game has to offer.

In a game where brutal gun firing combat is what you’ll be spending much of your time on, the weapons would be a pretty important part in a game like Bulletstorm. You will be allowed to carry up to 3 weapons at a time.  Your always equipped with your basic assault rifle that really resembles a Lancer from Gears of War minus the chainsaw. One of my favorite weapons in the game was the Flail gun.  It’s a chain that shoots out thats equipped with two bombs at each end that wraps around your enemy then with a single press of the RT, it rips most bodies in half.  I found this to be extremely useful during some of the tougher enemies in the game like some of the bigger bosses.  The drill bit weapon was also a blast to use, that will instantly implode your enemy into the nearest wall, killing them with one hit.  But the shotgun is the weapon I had in my arsenal throughout the entire game.  It was great for close quarter shootouts and it was equipped with 4 barrels instead of 2 and as you would imagine it literally tore people in half and made for a nice rack up in Skillshot points.  There are a total of around 8 different weapons you can use in the game, and you upgrade each weapon with the points you collect with Skillshots.  Each time you come up on Dropkits, you can buy ammo for your guns, add a secondary fire onto them or swap out one of your guns for something new.  But whatever your weapon of choice may be, Bulletstorm is sure to have everything your sick little mind desires.

Let the plant do all the work

But Bulletstorm has more than just a campaign mode.  If you played the demo, then you got a little taste of the Echoes mode.  These are levels pulled from the single player that last anywhere from 4-6 minutes, and basically all your trying to do is get through each section not so much quickly, but how many Skillpoints you can accumulate.  At the end of each level you are graded on how well you performed.  It also has a leaderboard attached so you can see how well your friends did during their run.  Echoes mode isn’t the highlight to Bulletstorm, but it does make for some fun if you just want to hop on for 20 minutes or so, and anytime you can compete against your friends, it always adds for some replayability.  Anarchy is the cooperative multiplayer mode in Bulletstorm.  It pits you and three of your buddies against 20 waves of enemies, and as you would guess each wave increases in difficulty.  To complete each wave you have to rack up enough skillpoints to advance.  Anarchy will have the most lasting appeal because it’s the mode that you can play with your friends.  If you can get 3 of your buddies together, you will no doubt have an absolute blast.

By no means is Bulletstorm a “perfect” game.  One example is the games controls.  I am not saying they are bad, in fact after a little while you will pick up on them fairly quickly because of how much they resemble Gears of War.  But if your like me who’s brain is wired to the Call of Duty controls, it will take some time before you are running, sliding, and pulverizing your enemies in a smooth manner.  I also had instances of getting stuck onto objects which is very annoying when your under heavy gunfire.  At one point it happened during a pretty intense boss battle and I nearly almost died because of this.  I would say it only happened maybe two or three times but it always seemed like it came at the worst of times.  The game’s story and characters is also not much to write home about.  You will really care less about both as you make your way through the 6-8 hour campaign, depending on what difficulty you play on and how many times you die.

At the end of the campaign I was satisfied with my time with Bulletstorm.  The single player is a decent length and with the Echoes and Anarchy mode on top of that I would justify this game being a 60$ purchase, not too mention having a chance to jump in the Gears of War 3 Beta early.  But if the single player is the only thing that interests you, I would say give it a weekend rental.  But definitely give it the time of day, Bulletstorm puts some of the fun back into the FPS genre.

This review was based on the Xbox 360 version.

Tuesday, 9/14 -

• Painkiller Pandemonium – $19.99 – Collection of all the Painkiller games
• Patrician IV – $39.99 – Medievil  Strategy game

News Bytes

Beenox continues it’s trend of awesome PC ports! Known for handling many past PC ports, Beenox has spread it’s wings and made their own, so far well-reviewed game, Spider-Man : Shattered Dimensions.  A game which did not see a PC release, how ironic?  Well, take heart, true believers, Spidey has been confirmed to be swinging onto PC’s everywhere, later this year!  No dates were given, but the information comes directly from an Activision source, so stay tuned for more details as we expose this web of intrigue!

Breaking news, EA has grown a heart, and ears?! In a stunning revelation, EA’s Need For Speed World will now be completely free.  Yes, no catches, no strings, players can go well beyond the original level 10 cap, previously hitting the E-brake on free players.  In their press release, the game’s developers have said that they have been listening closely to the community feedback, in-game and on the forums, and have decided this will be the best option, for the game.  Oh, but you already paid $20 to unlock the full game?  Fear not, speed racer, EA will be granting you some pretty sweet rides, for rent in the game, so check your inbox for those codes, they should be going out shortly!

King Graham finds a Silver Lining. For those King’s Quest fans out there, Phoenix Online has announced that Episode 2 of it’s fan driven continuation of the PC classic, will be up for download, for free, this Saturday, September 18th.  For those not familiar, the firs Episode became available in July, and has been well received.  Phoenix is a group of completely independent fans of the King;s Quest franchise, who were unhappy with the last game in the series, and wanted to faithfully continue the lore and storyline of the game, with episodic content.  If you’ve ever played a King’s Quest game, you owe it to yourself to check out The Silver Lining!

Steam taking a page from Microsoft?! Relax, Steam fans, this, actually, isn’t a bad thing.  Steam has announced that they will be doing a Steam Wallet system online, now, similar to what XBOX LIVE does with Microsoft points.  Steam members will be able to add money to their Steam Wallet, in increments of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 dollars.  This will not replace the existing option for instant purchases, but will supplement as a way to keep credit, in your account, should you be saving for a release, or have some extra money you want to save as Steam credit.  Personally, I think it’s a great idea, especially for parents who’s kids game on Steam, they have money they want to spend, but nothing to spend it on?  Drop it into the Steam Wallet and they can use it later!  Same goes for an anticipated game release, or someone anxiously awaiting one of the lauded Steam sales.  Now if only Microsoft would take a step back and add instant purchases to XBL…….

Ubisoft serves up a well-concealed wrist knife to the throat of PC players. Well, PC gamers may already be frustrated with Ubisoft, not only because, it seems, all their new releases have hit the $60 price point, but also because of the, well known and invasive, always on DRM scheme, employed by all new releases.  Well, we can add another trending dagger to angry PC gamer’s hands – the fact that none of Ubisoft’s AAA titles has released alongside their console counterparts.  Splinter : Call Conviction saw a delayed release, as did Assassin’s Creed II, and now Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will follow suit.  Console assassins get their bloody hands on the game on October 4th, but the PC iteration has been pushed back to next year’s first quarter.  Am I the only one that thinks this is a knife to the heart of any excitement for the game’s PC version?

Geared Up

Speaking of game delays, Ubisoft should take a page from Arrowhead Studios, on delay announcements.  I know this isn’t a typical entry, for my Geared Up section, but I wanted to shake things up, and I was impressed enough, by this trailer, that I thought it would make a great feature here.  In a mailing we received from Magicka publisher, Paradox, they have announced both a website for the game, and a delay, humorously presented  in a game trailer.  Even if you are not interested in playing Magicka, an action-adventure RPG, I would still highly recommend viewing the trailer, here, just for the humorous approach that Arrowhead Studios has taken.  It must have taken some time to throw the trailer together, and it’s impossible to be mad at the delay after watching the trailer.  For those that are interested in the game, the official website can be found at www.magickagame.com, and you can expect to see the game early next year (they are pulling a Blizzard – when it’s done).

• Thursday, 8/12 – Puzzle Quest 2 on Steam for $19.99 ($17.99 by pre-order before then)

News Bytes

Torchlight will be lit, again, in Spring of 2011!!! Runic games has blindsided us by announcing that their next project is not a Torchlight MMO, but a full on, Torchlight sequel, featuring online co-op, among other innovations.  Runic has mentioned that the outcry for co-op, and the huge success of Torchlight have made the next logical step seem more plausible as a sequel with multiplayer, rather than a dive directly into the MMO space.  Great idea to work out the kinks for the MMO and the fans are certainly happy with the announcement! Look for more information to come, very, very soon, here at Everyday Gamers, about Torchlight II, but for now, here is a summary of the new features to look for :

1. New Classes, 4 total, only the Railman ( melee/Tank) and Outlander (Ranged/Light Magic) announced, so far.
2. Player characters will now be customizable as male/female, and some appearance features
3. New pets announced, although Dogs/Cats will return, no animals heard yet, but Runic wants each pet to have some unique features/attributes/skills
4. The ‘Identify’ spells/scrolls will not return, the mechanic has been abandoned
5. Wide open, outside areas spanning multiple towns/lands, featuring day/night cycles and weather effects
6. Random, non-quest related, events will also be expected
7. Online Co-op with a minimum 4 players, no ceiling announced yet (6-8 estimated)
8. Co-op loot fights non-existent, only you will see your own loot drops
9. Sadly, Runic has confirmed that the 3 classes from Torchlight will not be playable, but will return as NPC’s, in the game.

Players Zerg-rushed stores for Starcraft II purchases! Record breaking sales numbers, for Starcraft II, show the game sold 1 million copies on day one, and reached 1.5 million sales within the first 48 hours of release.  These amazing numbers have made Starcraft II the fastest selling strategy game of all time.  Pretty good for an exclusive game on a dead platform, right?  If you are a big Starcraft fan, stay tuned for our review, coming very soon.  Also, look fora Spoilerific Spoiler-filled Starcraft Podcast, set to come sometime within the next month!

Maximum cloak. According to EA financial reports, Crysis fans will go without a nanosuit this Christmas, as it seems Crysis 2 will remain cloaked until the first quarter of 2011.  It is going to be very interesting to see how the game performs on consoles, as well as in a new environment, but now the game faces a crowded Spring lineup, as well.  EA, alone, has five titles planned for that time period, and I’m sure we’ll see a few more, thanks to the success of some of the 2010 launches, in that timeframe.  Is it wrong that I am more curious for Darkspore than I am Crysis 2?

Have you ever danced with the devil in the light of Arkham City? No, I never heard of Arkham City, either, but gamers will know it well after next fall.  Batman : Arkham City will be the follow up to one of the most lauded licensed video games ever, Batman : Arkham Asylum.  We already know to expect appearances from Two-Face and Catwoman, thanks to covers on Game Informer, I would hope to see more revelations made soon with GamesCom and PAX Prime right around the corner.  The game’s story will be penned by Paul Dinni, the writer from B:AA.  Judging by the name, we can expect to see Batman terrorize thugs across a more open environment, but we will have to wait to see.  Develpers have also teased more Batmobile segments, and I’m sure fans would enjoy a jet boosted ride through the streets of Gotham, as long as it’s not a high-def Spy Hunter sequence(or a super disappointing end-game sequence, harumph!).

Have you been dying to pay for your Quake? Quake LIVE has been in free Beta since 2/2009, but now it’s a full-blown game with subscription options.  I know, I didn’t realize it was still in Beta either, but relax, the free option is still there, if that’s what you prefer.  More committed fraggers can choose between a Premium option at $24 per year and a Pro option, at $48 per year.  The Premium package includes a Freeze-Tag Mode, many exclusive maps, clan creation and the option to join up to 5 clans.  Pro tacks on the option to start your own game server, as well as bringing three non-paying Quake friends into any of the premium content games.

Speaking of shooters, Star Wars Farcry? Maybe we can expect a new Republic Commando, thanks to the new staff member at Lucasarts.  The prime creative mind behind Farcry 2 and Splinter Cell games, Clint Hocking, has defected from Ubisoft to Lucasarts.  Obviously, Mr. Hocking has not revealed the projects he will be handling there, but speculation abounds.  There is enough to keep him busy with the collaborative push behind The Old Republic and Force Unleashed II, but this gamer hopes that his experience in the stealth/FPS realm will be applied to the Star Wars franchise.  May the Force be strong with him in his new endeavors!

Rumors of Dragons abound. Apparently, a listing on Gamestop.com, has everyone talking about Dragon: Age Origins, again.  A listing for an Ultimate Edition of last year’s RPG breakout was shown on their site with an MSRP of $59.99 for 360 and PS3, and only $49.99 for PC—but no details on the contents.  Not a bad deal if the full expansion, Awakening, and all of the DLC packs are included!  The bundle is set for an October 12th release, this year, and could be a great pickup for those that held out from early adoption.

E3 2010 Nightly Roundup Ep. #2

New Releases

Tuesday June 1st

Alpha Protocol – $49.99, The Espionage RPG

Sims 3 Ambitions – $39.99 – Meticulous career control for your Sims

News Bytes

• DRM Alert!!! So this week, we have good news and bad news on the DRM front.  First, the good.  A Blizzard representative was quoted saying that Anti-piracy efforts, on the PC platform, are an outright waste of resources that would be better devoted to making better games.  They acknowledged that piracy and software cracking teams were exponentially greater than the developer teams, and that anti-piracy measures are futile at best.  They seem to believe that, if correctly implemented, Battle.Net will offer enough features to lure players into wanting to play with a legitimate, paid copy rather than a cracked torrented one, and isn’t that what we have been saying here at EDG?  Make the game better and continue to innovate, and the majority of players will gladly pay for the experience.  On the downside, Namco Bandai, while echoing the futile sentiments of anti-piracy measures, have said that they are choosing to support the “always on” DRM scheme that Ubisoft has flung at us, like plague ridden bodies over a castle wall.  They admit that it is not the best scheme, but it is the best option for them, at this time.  So how will Test Drive’s new game and The Witcher 2 be affected?  Only time will tell.  However, if you are a Test Drive fan, head over to the Test Drive Unlimited 2 site, or click here, to apply for the game’s beta.  Keep in mind, that while Blizzard’s statements are a remarkable breath of fresh air, Battle.Net 2.0 still requires a log in for single player gameplay—-although it would appear that an offline mode, a la Steam’s offline play, should be an option.  Keep your eyes peeled for the EDG SCII Beta preview, coming soon—–and keep at those Zerg rushes, the Beta has been extended until June 7th!
• Were you one of the lucky 25,000 first gamers to jump into OnLive’s pre-order? Were you looking forward to the free first 3 months that were promised?  Well, that’s not the deal anymore!  Take heart true believers, OnLive has not taken away, but upped the ante to one year free AND one free game.  Sounds like a great deal no?  Also sounds like an attempt to attract attention from their competitor, Gaikai, who has been drawing much attention of their own with their pricing structure and network of server sites.  It will be interesting to see this clash of the titans, and the news they unveil at E3!
• Need For Speed World Online prepping pit crews. The official launch date of the online racing MMO will be July 20th, with beta access for pre-orders.  The new iteration in the NFS universe will allow free play until level 10, after which a $19.99 ‘Starter Pack’ purchase will be required and will up the level cap to 50.  Also available with a pre-order is an exclusive car, early access and a power up pack.  I assume there won’t be any balancing issues with the exclusive content, but then again that statement would assume that there is enough of a NFS following willing to make the jump into MMO territory and play long enough to uncover these balancing issues.
• More Call of Duty ups and downs, as Treyarch announces that they are solely committed to the Call Of Duty franchise. Sure, it’s good news, but it’s also worrisome if they are not cautious to avoid the same pitfalls that Infinity Ward fell prey to.  On another front, Black Ops details are hitting like tracers lighting up the night sky.  Apparently, we can gladly move on from World War II as the new game’s setting will span across multiple fronts such as the Cold War and Vietnam.  Joystiq aired a developer interview, withe Treyarch’s Dan Bunting,  here, but if you are reluctant to read it, I will post the highlights here :

1. True to Call of Duty form, you will control multiple characters across many frontiers in the 60′s and 70′s timeframe, enclosed in a single, over-arcing storyline.
2. Four player co-op and two player split screen has been announced, along with a beefed up COD4 graphics engine.
3. DLC was not addressed, a PS2 port was confirmed DOA and a Wii title, handled by another team within Treyarch, will be enrolling for active duty.

• Heavy Rain will not be storming onto the PC. Well, we can put this rumor to rest apparently, although, even with the mixed reviews, I can say I would still like to see Heavy Rain get ported over.  In a large list of games supporting Nvidia’s PhysX technology on an Nvidia website, gamers spied that Heavy Rain would be supporting the technology that shined in Arkham Asylum, among other titles.  Without a game announcement, this seemed like an accidental announcement for an interesting PC port.  Unfortunately, the PhysX guys have declared this a mere typo and corrected the website.  True, this does not completely rule out the game’s weather conditions changing direction to the PC, but it makes it a lot more skeptical, for now.

Geared Up

Well, I can thank our own, Patrick Adams, for this week’s ‘Geared Up’ entry.  I was a little uninformed with last week’s discussion of Nvidia’s current 3D PC technology, so what better way to get caught up than to get up close and personal right here!  The 3D kit currently retails on NewEgg for $199.00, with a copy of James Cameron’s Avatar for the PC.  As I mentioned, the tech runs best on a monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz, but it is not required.  This particular kit only includes the software, glasses and IR transmitter to transmit the image up to 15 feet wirelessly to one or multiple sets of glasses.  It’s the LC lenses in the glasses that are the key to the whole technology.  The lenses flicker at a rate far beyond the eyes detection, allowing the images corresponding to each eye to be seen as 3D by the wearer.  Like our console wireless controllers, they are charged by USB to be ready for use in-game, but I found no details on how long they could be used before requiring an additional charging.  Sure, this only creates the illusion of 3D, but judging by the spectrum of reviews, it can be excellent—-provided you have the tech to pull it off.  I have been able to find prices for 22″ monitors starting at $249 and climbing online-which is probably not unreasonable if you are in need of a replacement monitor, but seems expensive if you already have a good resolution reliable monitor and are upgrading for the sole purpose of 3D support.  One of the interesting features that I came across, that one might not think of, is the ability of Nvidia’s 3D tech to create it’s own crosshair in any title supported.  Why in the world would they do that, you ask?  Well, in case the game did not adapt it’s built in crosshair to the 3D support, Nvidia does the work for them so that your crosshair will not disappear behind objects and enemies rendered in 3D, causing targeting difficulties.  If you are curious about the technology and it’s presentation, check the links below.

For a video of the unboxing and product review, look here.  Also, many associated videos can be found on the right.

For a full list of supported games, as well as links to product descriptions, check Nvidia’s page here.  I have to say, the list of supported titles is absolutely staggering, and I can easily see myself dusting off many of these games when my budget catches up with the falling prices of the monitors and tech.