Gaming Today |
- David O. Russell Is, In Fact, Directing the Uncharted Movie
- 5 Game Situations That Would Actually Suck (LIST)
- X-Men: Destiny Announced and Trailer-ized at NYCC
- Modular Combat 2.0.3?
- Gamestop Says Black Ops Pre-orders Are Exceeding Those of Modern Warfare 2
- Medal of Honor Trophies
- Medal of Honor Cheats
- Medal of Honor Walkthrough
- Ghost of Sparta Can Net You a God of War III Bonus
- Just Say No (to the Modern Warfare 2 Commando Perk)
- Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Beta Impressions
- Things Get Really F**ked in this The Force Unleashed II Launch Trailer
- How To Use The Forge In Halo: Reach
- Vindictus Beta Impressions
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review
| David O. Russell Is, In Fact, Directing the Uncharted Movie Posted: 08 Oct 2010 08:39 PM PDT So David O. Russell, was on the Uncharted movie, and then he was off the Uncharted movie. That was all “rumor and speculation,” of course, but it was actually true. And then he was slated to take on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but now he’s off that, and he’s absolutely, totally going to write and direct the Uncharted movie. And this is not a rumor or speculation. This is a great thing. A great, great thing. For one thing, it’s great because it means the previous script, penned by the douches who wrote Sahara, is going by the wayside in favor of something that will undoubtedly be way better. I’m so overwhelmed by this news that I can’t really think of anything intelligent to say about this right now. I mean, man. The movie will be called Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, so I guess it’ll be an adaptation of the first game. And that’s all we know at this point, because Columbia Pictures just today signed the deal with Russell. Whaddaya know; it’s a video game adaptation to actually look forward to. First the Halo thing, and now this. If these flicks turn out to be good, and they totally might, we may look back on this week as a pretty important time for game movies.
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| 5 Game Situations That Would Actually Suck (LIST) Posted: 08 Oct 2010 04:01 PM PDT The thing that makes video gaming a several-billion-dollar industry is the ability to experience something you’d never get to do in real life, on account of the fact that you’re sitting on the couch, playing a video game, rather than out training to be an astronaut or something. The games that sell that best generally have one thing: a high “badassery” quotient. Yes, we all want to play as the gun-slinging, enemy mangling, ninja-assassination-ing BAMF of our deepest imaginations. And games are happy to oblige with magic, superpowers, armor supersuits, injected mental powers, spy training, amazing gadgets, and an incredible amount of “holy crap I can’t believe that didn’t kill me” luck. But some of those things that seem so great in the virtual world — bastions of badassery — would actually suck to experience. And we’re not talking a little suck, we’re talking life-altering, go-to-the-nearest-spaceship-airlock-and-blow-yourself-out-into-the-inky-void suck. The following are several video game situations that seem like they’d be great to actually experience. We’re taking a harder look at them to expose the slimy mollusk beneath the awesome shiny seashell of supposedly “cool” video game concepts. 5. Collecting CoinsThe Scenario: As you journey onward to save the distressed princess from the giant dragon-turtle, you’re constantly stumbling on somebody’s loose change. It’s freaking everywhere. You keep stuffing it in your pockets, and you keep finding more! Sometimes, you even get a 1-up if you find enough. Suddenly this pro-bono random princess-saving mission is a paid gig. The Reality: You find a coin. That’s awesome. Stick it in your pocket. Then you find another one. Pocket. And another one. Pocket. You jump in some kind of weird green pipe and you’re in a room full of coins. Pocket. Pocket. Pocket. Pocket. Hope you brought cargo pants. Even if we’re generous and assume that when you hit 100 coins, they turn into an extra life (still — where are you gonna stick that mushroom?), you still have to lug around the first 99 until that happens. Your pants are gonna be heavy, your running is impeded by your sloshing but solid pockets, and every step you take is announced to the entire world with an incessant, maddening jingle jingle jingle. And in the end, for all that effort you collected, what, like $10 probably? Bus fare back from the Mushroom Kingdom? 4. Leveling Up by Massacring Cute Forest AnimalsThe Scenario: As a precocious young warrior, you venture into the forests surrounding your home city with just your sword and your wits, hoping to hone your skills in defense against various hostile indigenous creatures. The Reality: Yeah, you and 2 million other MMO players who just fired up the game. Yes, it’s a romantic notion to go out into the forest and fight off vicious monsters, goblins, squirrels, sheep — whatever. As Samuel L. Jackson once said, they deserved to die and you hope the burn in hell, right? Okay, maybe goblins. But the rest of those animals out in the forest, falling to your blade in the name of experience points, are just animals doing animal things. And not to be a World of Warcraft PETA activist or anything, but how many squirrels have to die so you can level up and take on a dragon or something? In reality, you and every other warrior wanting to go learn how to use a sword, stumbling around the forest, are an ecosystem-destroying bulldozer far beyond anything demonized in the movie “Fern Gully.” Think American buffalo in the mid-1800s. It wouldn’t be long before you’d scoured every forest, cave and valley of all life. Thanks for the environmental holocaust, Good Guys. I’m sure it was worth it to defeat that single evil wizard. 3. Stealth SpyingThe Situation: When the U.S. really needs really important intelligence, it doesn’t send a bunch of grunt soldiers — it sends you, a lone operative, to infiltrate enemy strongholds, assassinate leaders, defuse nuclear weapons. You’re a ghost, a ninja and a legend, and all enemies fall before your might and intelligence. The Reality: Solid Snake and Sam Fisher spend a lot of time in crappy places. Like inside boxes. Or vents. Or under cars. Hanging from ceilings. Concealed in lockers. Perched in shadows. One has to figure they get a lot of cramps, and their feet probably fall asleep a lot. Being stealthy is cool when you’re doing the neck-snapping. What about the waiting several hours for night to fall? Or the crawling through raw sewage pipes to reach sensitive areas? Or when your partner has to use you to climb up to a window? At the very least, Fisher and Snake spend entire missions hunched over, trying to look small and avoid being seen or taking fire. Just take a look at their posture. That can’t be comfortable. The chiropractic bills alone would suck up all your hero pay for stopping any nuclear threats. 2. Shooting Up PlasmidsThe Situation: In the dark and dripping halls of an underwater city, you inject a syringe into your wrist and suddenly, you’ve realigned your DNA. Lightning crackles across your palm – just in time to fight off the two frightening crazies approaching you from the shadows, and those creeps happen to be standing in a puddle. You will electricity to burst from your hand and fry both of them and you grin at the exercise of the superhuman abilities you got out of a glass needle. The Reality: Fist full of lightning — yeah, that’s pretty awesome. It doesn’t matter that the actual applications of being able to project electricity from your hands are pretty limited, because no matter what, you have the best party trick ever. You’re a living Tesla coil. You will never be mugged or even sneered at again. And while there are a wealth of cool and weird powers (one that grows bees in your forearms, which you can then send in a maddening cloud at your enemies [freakin' bees!]), there’s one thing that comes up but is a little bit glossed-over in this whole scenario. That’s the point that those weird crazies who keep attacking you without provocation used to be just like you, and before that, they were even more normal. Yes, overuse (or maybe just “use”) of Plasmids has the very serious side-effect of driving its users absolutely insane. Like cutting up your own face Reaver insane. The possibility of total ludicrous, murderous insanity would be a calculated risk in some cases, but then again…how important is your ability to produce and control a bee swarm? Yeah, that’s cool in the one fighting-for-your-life situation (I guess, but as has been pointed out: Who gets killed by bees?), but it’s not like you need pyrokinesis every day. Modern humanity has discovered matches. Thanks, we’ll let you know if we need you. In all, that’s a relatively small amount of barely useful power that will probably cost you your sanity. The badass quotient drops off severely when you’re introducing invisible people to your favorite bees, Professor Moriarty, Alexander Hamilton and Jimmy. 1. Being Master ChiefThe Situation: You’re the greatest soldier in the universe — genetically enhanced, trained in superior tactics, capable of piloting any vehicle, and fully versed in all manner of the disbursal and application of death. Single-handedly turning the tides of battles and rampaging across the universe, you jump higher, run faster, wear a Star Trek deflector shield on your person and are generally unkillable. The ultimate of ultimate badasses. The Reality: You might get to drop into the Chief’s world when you turn on your Xbox and bounce out when it’s off, but to live this man’s life, it’s not nearly as cool as you might think. Let’s start with his childhood. Oh right — Master Chief didn’t get to have one. Why’s that? Because the military sent Office of Naval Intelligence agents to kidnap him. They replaced him with a clone. So when you’re Master Chief, you really cannot go home again, because your parents won’t believe you’re you. You don’t even have any parents. You’ve also been training to be this badass super soldier for your entire life. You didn’t go to school. You didn’t go to prom. You didn’t go on a date. You haven’t had a drink. There was no football team or drama club to try out for. Imagine being a teenager in the SPARTAN-II — I think it’s fair to say your emo phase would have ended real fast. At the butt of a gun to the face, probably. I couldn’t find it written down anywhere, but let’s be real: they probably sew you into that armor. Master Chief wears it for about two years straight. He attends an awards ceremony with it on when nothing scary is happening. He repeatedly goes into and comes out of cryosleep while wearing it. There’s certainly no way to take it off to pee, which means he pees in there and the suit is powered by it or recycles it or something. One last thing: SPARTANS aren’t always sent out to fight the Covenant. As we see in Halo: Reach, sometimes they get to go break up resistance movements or check on broken communications arrays. I’m sure you’ll have a good time showing up to strong-arm civilians in trade disputes and put down idiots stockpiling weapons. But almost always, if there’s a mission in which there’s a high likelihood of getting your ass blown off, guess who gets to go? Oh, right — the “badass” in the pee armor.
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| X-Men: Destiny Announced and Trailer-ized at NYCC Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:51 PM PDT X-Men: Destiny. What the hell is it? Well, it’s a game, and Silicon Knights is developing it and Activision is publishing. That’s pretty much all we know. We’ll find out more at the NYCC Marvel panel on Saturday, though. But until then, we have a vague description and a vague teaser trailer. Here’s the vague description: “The all-new original video game casts players as new mutant recruits in a rich, branching storyline that features a deep element of choice and gives players ultimate control of their destiny.” Aight, sounds pretty great so far. Sounds like an RPG, in fact. Awesome. Moving on; here’s the vague teaser: I see Wolverine and Cyclops, and those are the only silhouettes I could identify. Cool. Now sit tight until Saturday.
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:15 PM PDT It’s been a busy year for the people behind Modular Combat. Barely 3 months after releasing version 2.0.0 of the Corporate Warfare/Dystopic Entertainment mod of Half-Life 2 was released, and they’re already up to version 2.0.3. Oh, wait, that’s because they skipped .2. We won’t hold that against them though, because 2 updates in three months is hardcore. Also, they’ve managed to make some significant improvements. It still has over 50 modules that can be upgraded or combined almost infinitely to make increasingly deadly (and destructive) weapons, and it still forces players to battle for the amusement of corporate overlords in a weapons testing facility. It just got a lot more fun is all:
Download the latest version of Modular Combat here.
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| Gamestop Says Black Ops Pre-orders Are Exceeding Those of Modern Warfare 2 Posted: 08 Oct 2010 02:09 PM PDT Years ago back in July of 2010, we heard that the newly 3D Black Ops was outpacing Modern Warfare 2 in pre-orders. Today, we hear that Black Ops is keeping up that torrid pace as we approach the game’s release date. This comes from Gamestop themselves. From Gamestop’s high-up guy Bob McKenzie:
He didn’t give any actual numbers, but that’s beside the point. The point is that Black Ops is tracking to be the biggest game release of all time, even if, as our previous report stated, it may not reach the total number of copies that Modern Warfare 2 sold. Halo: Reach is gonna be small fries come November 9.
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:56 PM PDT
It’ll be hard to focus on trophy-earning with all the chaos and carnage that goes on in Medal of Honor, so consult this guide to make sure you know what to look for. EA and DICE have been working with military experts and veterans to distract you. Multiplayer is class-based, and a lot of the game’s prizes are based on completing goals in the multiplayer realm. Riflemen, Special Ops soldiers and Snipers will want to focus on clearly-defined objectives in order to unlock their respective accessories. We’ll have a full list of trophies as soon as they’re available. Game: Medal of Honor Bronze TrophiesSilver TrophiesGold TrophiesPlatinum TrophiesLooking for other information? Check out our Cheats page here. We’ve also got the Medal of Honor Launch Trailer and the PC Beta Client. Stuck on a particular part of the game? We’ve got a full walkthrough.
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:27 PM PDT If the gameplay’s as realistic as EA claims, earning achievements and trophies will be one of the only activities that will distract from the immersion. Medal of Honor is promising revolutionary fidelity in its gameplay, fidelity that should make for an incredible experience. Herculean efforts have also been expended on the multiplayer portion of the game, which is expected to make a serious challenge to Call of Duty’s console-shooter supremacy. Whether or not the EA franchise will be able to get Activision and Infinity Ward in its iron sights remains to be seen. Here at FileFront, we’ve got all the information you need to survive Afghanistan — the so-called “graveyard of empires.” Look below for our walkthrough, lists of trophies and achievements, and more. Medal of Honor Xbox 360 Achievements Multiplayer: First Rotation – Play online for 15 minutes – 15G Multiplayer: Tour of Duty – Play online for 2 hours – 15G Multiplayer: Heavy Fire Support – Fire 1000 bullets in a round (awarded at end of round) – 15G Multiplayer: Boot Camp – Play once as each class (minimum 2 minutes each) – 15G Multiplayer: Mission Training – Play Combat Mission – 15G Multiplayer: Assault Training – Play Team Assault – 15G Multiplayer: Secure Training – Play Sector Control – 15G Multiplayer: Raid Training – Play Objective Raid – 15G Multiplayer: Enlisted – Reach level 2 with any class – 15G Multiplayer Veteran – Reach level 4 with any class – 15G Multiplayer: Triple Canopy – Reach level 8 in one class – 15G Multiplayer: Mission Specialist – Play two hours of Combat Mission – 20G Multiplayer: Assault Specialist – Play two hours of Team Assault – 20G Multiplayer: Secure Specialist – Play two hours of Sector Control – 20G Multiplayer: Raid Specialist – Play two hours of Objective Raid – 20G Multiplayer: Forward Spotter – Deploy a missile strike support action (awarded at end of round) – 20G Multiplayer: Fire Controller – Use each offensive support action once (awarded at end of round) – 30G Multiplayer: Quartermaster – Get 1000 support points – 30G Multiplayer: Tier 1 – Reach top level in one class – 35G Multiplayer: High Achiever – Be top 3 on the scoreboard ten times – 40G First Incision – Singleplayer: Complete First In – 15G Welcome to the TOC – Singleplayer: Complete Breaking Bagram – 15G Develop the Situation - Singleplayer: Complete Running with Wolves… – 15G Unexpected Guests – Singleplayer: Complete Dorothy's a Bitch – 15G Full Battle Rattle - Singleplayer: Complete Belly of the Beast – 15G Bad Guy Jamboree - Singleplayer: Complete Gunfighters – 15G Friends From Afar - Singleplayer: Complete Friends From Afar – 15G Cliffhanger – Singleplayer: Complete Compromised – 15G S.E.R.E. - Singleplayer: Complete Neptune's Net – 15G Eight Heroes Aboard – Singleplayer: Complete Rescue the Rescuers – 15G Smooth Operator – Singleplayer: In First In, kill the hostage taker with a headshot – 10G The Sledgehammer - Singleplayer: In Breaking Bagram, destroy 2 vehicles with a single 2000 lb. Laser Guided Bomb – 10G Dropping Deuce – Singleplayer: Jump 7.5 high on the ATV – 10G Fear the Reaper - Singleplayer: In Dorothy's a Bitch, destroy the entire AQ Camp with the AC-130 – 10G Manic Suppression – Singleplayer: In Belly of the Beast, defeat the DShK in under two minutes – 20G It Takes a Village…Out - Singleplayer: Destroy 30 buildings in Gunfighter's Village – 10G Like a Surgeon – Singleplayer: While long range sniping, hit one of every body part – 10G Feeding the Pig - Singleplayer: In Compromised, get 15 kills with the M60 – 15G The Quiet Professional – Singleplayer: In Neptune's Net, eliminate 13 enemies without alerting anyone – 15G Timber! – Singleplayer: In Rescue the Rescuers, chop down 5 trees with the Minigun – 10G The Battle is Won… - Singleplayer: Finish the game on Easy, Normal, or Hard – 50G …But the War Rages On - Singleplayer: Finish the game on Hard – 75G Conspicuous Gallantry – Singleplayer: Finish every level in the game on Tier 1 Mode under par time – 100G The Scalpel - Singleplayer: Achieve 20 total knife kills – 15G Pistol Pete Showdown - Singleplayer: Get a total of 30 pistol kills – 15G Right in the Grape… - Singleplayer: Get 7 headshots in a row with any weapon except the long range sniper rifle – 15G Crowd Control - Singleplayer: Kill 5 enemies at once with a single hand grenade – 15G Rangers Lead the Way - Singleplayer: Finish all of Dante's missions – 15G Never Quit - Singleplayer: Finish all of Rabbit's missions – 15G Have a Good One – Singleplayer: Finish all of Deuce's missions – 15G
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2010 01:03 PM PDT EA and DICE have courted plenty of controversy with Medal of Honor, most of it centered around the fact that players in multiplayer matches will take control of the “opposing force,” a thinly disguised substitute for the Taliban resistance. Despite this change in nomenclature, stores on military bases are still refusing to stock the game. On the principal that all publicity is good publicity, the game stands to make approximately a gajillion dollars. The FPS market has been crying out for a title to try to knock Call of Duty off it’s throne, and Medal of Honor might just be the game to do it. The gameplay promises to be the most realistic yet, and designers were advised by a vast number of Afghanistan veterans as they strove to augment the authenticity of the experience. If you want to try before you buy, we’ve got the PC Open Beta Client available here. Check back on release day for the first installments of our complete singleplayer walkthrough, featuring text and video. Looking for factual information? Check out our Medal of Honor Cheats page!
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| Ghost of Sparta Can Net You a God of War III Bonus Posted: 08 Oct 2010 12:32 PM PDT
See, not all copies of the game have that little note there about a Deimos skin for God of War III, and the copies without that note won’t come with the previously mentioned Deimos skin. Why is the ability of play God of War III as Kratos’ brother a cool thing? That’s a good question. Here’s the answer, per the US Playstation blog: “Re-live the God of War III experience like never before as you get to play as Kratos's brother Deimos. With enhanced combat damage and the ability to receive 4x the amount of Health, Magic and God Orbs, you are given the ultimate rage-fueled Spartan.” Aight. But will everyone still refer to him as Kratos? That’s why I can’t dig single-player skins; it’s f**king weird when you look like one person and everyone thinks you’re someone else. Although it can be funny, too, to be fair. Like, it’s amusing to, in Uncharted 2, put on the Jeff the Cameraman skin while dragging Jeff the Cameraman around the city in Nepal, and Doughnut Drake is always good times. We’ll have to wait and see about Deimos, though.
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| Just Say No (to the Modern Warfare 2 Commando Perk) Posted: 08 Oct 2010 12:06 PM PDT I’ve got a very important PSA about Modern Warfare 2 to show you all today courtesy of my Break brethren. (Important to you, I mean. I haven’t played Modern Warfare 2 in 8 months.) It’s about responsible gaming, and I think we can all, even those of us who have moved on with our lives, get something out of this.
Don’t be douches.
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| Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Beta Impressions Posted: 08 Oct 2010 11:50 AM PDT
Well, like Bioshock 2, this sequel’s multiplayer seems on track to add a slightly different perspective to the traditional “capture the flag” game mode. Currently EA and Visceral games are hosting a PS3 invite-only closed beta. We’ve spent a few hours running around in the game and wanted to share our first impressions of this new feature with you. Firstly, Dead Space as a setting is downright creepy and creepy is often a factor of isolation and moments of long eerie silence punctuated by instants of sheer terror and action. Dead Space 2′s multiplayer isn’t for recreating the tension of its single-player story. While this is a game full of Necromorphs and humans fighting to survive, the multiplayer action is centered on a timed team-based experience. Players join a game and get randomly sorted as either a Necro or Human. The Beta map featured objective based gameplay centered around the human team needing to collect objects and return them to a center hub while surviving a Necro attack. Human gameplay in Dead Space 2 Multiplayer relies very heavily on co-operation and coordination. Lone gunmen will soon find themselves eliminated and since the human team has a limited amount of time, each death and the associated respawn cooldown drastically decreases the chances of a timely victory. Human players wield the Plasma cutter and Pulse Rifle and Necros in multiplayer are just as resilient to standard attacks and weak toward dismemberment as they are in the campaign game. Emptying a clip is far less efficient a tactic in this game than in say Call of Duty.
Once the humans gather the items or time runs out you are given an opportunity to swap roles and try again. I found in practical play this didn’t always work. Necro players tend to play as solo death machines while humans need coordination to survive. Players who are good at stalking seldom made a good transition to team play, but it’s still a Beta and no one seemed comfortable all the time in any role. Playing multiple matches also brings forth the now ubiquitous leveling options. Make kills, earn XP and gain ranks. Ranks unlock new options, etc. Nothing too new here honestly, but at least the idea of practice and persistence pays off for fans of the game. Right now the game favors Necro players considerably. This may not be a matter of math but of gameplay style. I’ll be watching to see how things change in the final release. Nowhere in my right mind did I think Dead Space 2 or its setting made for a good multiplayer option, but Visceral’s choice has me rethinking that assumption. Balance issues, as expected in any Beta, still need some work but this is the most fun I’ve had in a team game since I first tried Natural Selection on the PC years ago.
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| Things Get Really F**ked in this The Force Unleashed II Launch Trailer Posted: 08 Oct 2010 11:38 AM PDT And I thought the whole “The Force Unleashed III might still be made” news made me happy… The Force Unleashed was a great attempt at letting us to some pretty outlandish things with Force powers, most notably throwing large pieces of machinery at TIE Fighters and pulling a Star Destroyer out of the sky. The Force Unleashed II, however, seems to laugh at that as it one-ups it in some really awesome ways. Like when you see Starkiller jump up, grab a TIE Fighter with his bare hands and throw it down on some dudes. Aside from that bit of craziness, the trailer is pretty clone-eriffic. Or is it? This may just be my own erroneous reading of it, but I think this trailer casts some doubt on the previously taken-for-granted knowledge that Starkiller is a clone of the Starkiller from the first game. I’m guessing that’ll be a large part of Starkiller’s internal conflict as he makes his way through the game. Also, you really f**k things up more than the last time around. Did I mention that already? OK, enough of my words. Can you imagine how much more awesome that will be when it’s Guybrush Threepwood throwing TIE Fighters around? This game will arrive in stores on October 26 on every console aside from the PSP. Man, I’ve typed that a bunch this week.
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| How To Use The Forge In Halo: Reach Posted: 08 Oct 2010 11:20 AM PDT If you haven’t spent any time playing with Halo: Reach’s “Forge” editor, it’s long past time to change that. If you have, you may be understandably lost–it’s so feature-rich, it can be overwhelming. We’ve got a full guide here, explaining how to use this massive, flexible and (very) fun level creator. The Forge in Halo: Reach comes packed with a huge array of features that aren’t allowed in normal Multiplayer. It combines the best things about playing with Legos with the best things about using cheats to hilarify a game. Not only a map editor, it’s also a editable-gameplay space for you and up to 7 other people, in which you can play around with the Forge’s features, shift back and forth between Player Mode and Edit Mode (allowing you to create a group designed map), and most importantly, kill each other in a diverse array of game styles. You can also pull some nasty little backstabs, like limiting editing privileges so that you, and only you, are able to access the editor. This can make for some rather interesting ways to really stick it to you friends, and we recommend it highly. Interested? Naturally. Let’s learn how to use the Halo: Reach Forge. Difficulty: Beginner Table Of Contents The Halo: Reach Forge Commands ToolsThis one’s easy. All you’ll need is an Xbox 360 and a copy of Halo: Reach. No doubt you have both. Let’s Forge ahead. Getting StartedTo get started, load Halo: Reach. On the main title screen, select “The Forge” from the menu, as seen here: After a short loading time, you’ll be presented with the Forge main menu screen, like so: This is where you’ll have the chance to set the rules of whatever game you’ll be playing once you’ve used the Halo: Reach Forge to create your custom map, as well as select the environment in which you’ll be editing. It’s a good idea to spend a few minutes getting familiar with these choices before moving forward. *”Game Options” is particularly interesting – this is where you’ll be able to add a little something more to your games than typical default settings, like increased shield or weapon strength, higher gravity, faster or slower respawn times, and so on. You can also choose which weapons will appear in game, which weapons will appear by default in the player’s hands, and so on, but we left most of these settings at default. For now, what we want is to select the right game type for our purposes: Basic Editing. Click the “Game Type” link and select it. Now you’ll need to choose the world you’ll be editing. You can select from a wide variety of levels straight out of the campaign and standard multiplayer, but we found it best to begin with a blank slate, so we chose “Forge World.” To do this, just click the Map option: And in here, choose “Forge World”, like so: So, you’ve chosen your game type, selected a map and, presumably, you’ve chosen your game settings. Click “start,” and we’re off! The Halo: Reach Forge CommandsA lot of people complained about the often inscrutable interface of Halo 3′s Forge, so for Halo: Reach, Bungie set out to streamline the feature considerably. Result is nothing short of user friendliness normally associated with Apple products. In short, the Halo: Reach Forge is ridiculously easy to use. Exceptionally intuitiv, it almost always does what you think it should do based on a given command. Even so, it’s best to become familiar with the controls before going any further. The first thing you’ll see when your Forge game loads is something like this: That’s because you start in game mode. “Weapons free, gentleman” and all that. If you’re editing with friends, then you could simply start shooting each other dead, but since you’re here to learn how to use the Reach Forge and not cheese your friends, bring up the start menu and switch to Edit Mode (like so): NOTE: all controls featured here can be reviewed at any time in the Start menu. Click that, and when you return to the main screen, your weapon will be gone, replaced by this: That center-screen icon is what you’ll be using to manipulate all objects from here on out. Now that we’re in Edit Mode, let’s take a moment to familiarize ourselves with the controller functions. Before doing anything else, take a look at the lower left hand corner of your screen. There, you’ll see the B & X buttons are enabled. * The X Button is “Place Object.” Clicking it brings up the menu from which you’ll be able to choose from the list of objects and other features you want to place into your map. * The B button takes you to “options”. As you haven’t selected an object yet, you’ll find only one at this point: Edit Rotation Snap Editing the Rotation Snap will set the number of degree-turns your object can make when rotating it along any axis. It is HIGHLY recommended that choose one now. While you can change the setting on an object-by-object basis, if you’re just getting started it’s likely that you’ll use the same setting for all objects. This will streamline that process considerably. We went with 30 degrees. Budget You’ll also notice a dollar amount. Just like in Halo 3, you’re allotted a budget of in-game credits with which to purchase objects and adjustments in the Halo: Reach Forge. A few points to consider: – Objects are generally cheap (walls cost 10 credits). Even so, it’s a good idea to pay attention to what you’ve spent so you’ll know when it’s time to get back to actual play to make up for any budget shortfalls. Don’t press “X” just yet. Instead, take a moment to get used to the stick and bumper controls: * The Left stick changes your POV by zooming waaay out or zooming waaay in. * The right stick orients you around whatever object (if any) you’ve selected, and moves you around. * LB will cause you to descend. * RB will cause you to ascend. * These functions work the same when you’re holding an object. Oriented? Good. Now click the X button to bring up the objects menu. You’ll see you’re able to choose from a variety of Objects to place into your map. We’ll come back to that shortly and concentrate on what happens once you’ve selected an object. You’ll be returned to the main screen. Look to the lower left and you’ll see your controller buttons have new functions: * A will drop the Object (or based on object physics, leave it in place no matter where you put it). * B gives you tools to manipulate the Object (like adjusting the pitch and yaw). * X gives you additional options for that Object (for example, changing the physics, which we’ll cover shortly). * Y will delete whatever object you’ve selected. Note: in the Halo: Reach single player campaign, cut scenes are skipped by clicking the Y button. As a result, you’re probably long since accustomed to hitting it and will accidentally delete an object more than once. Nothing to fear: Deleting an object returns the credits spent on it to you, so just go back into the “place Object” menu and grab it again. Comfortable with the lay of the land? Great. Next, we’ll get started actually adding objects and customizing your Halo: Reach Forge map. Adding ObjectsIn order to have a fun game, you’re going to have to put something into your map for you and your friends to play around in. You’ll need places to hide, random, fun type killing machines to use, walls to duck behind, and science fiction technology to be baffled by, and so on. In other words, you need Objects to interact with, and the Halo: Reach Forge has them in abundance. It’s also designed to encourage you to make your map as diverse as possible. You’ll have access to a HUGE amount of optional improvements like vehicles, structures, scenery and hilarious doo dads like traffic cones, but you won’t be able to go totally OCD and make an all-cones map. You’re limited to a certain number of objects per object type. For instance, you can place up to 50 wall type objects into a single map, but not a stitch more. So to get started, click that X button and to bring up your objects menu. Scroll through the menu options until you find the object type you’d like to import. We decided to create a spartan, yet surreal arena, and began with a little symmetry courtesy of the Double Wall we selected first. (See the photo above – it’s available by accessing the Building Blocks sub menu). Once it popped up, we hit the B button to access the Object Tools menu, and chose “Edit Coordinates”. Assuming you’ve set your Rotation Snap, you can orient your Object in nearly infinite positions, which not only allows you to place an object however you like, but use it in ways contrary to its intended purpose. Like so: Pretty cool, right? Now for a quick aside for what may be the single coolest feature available to you. Physics You’ll notice that the wall appears to be floating into the floor? That’s because of the object’s Physics settings. These settings allow you to determine how your object will behave in the map. There are three settings available to you: Phased, Fixed, and Normal. Each setting is default for at least some items, but for most of the non player-related objects (like vehicles, sandbags, weapons, spawn points and so forth), Phased is default. * The Phased setting makes the object sort of ghost like, allowing you considerable freedom to put something anywhere you want, at any angle. This allows you to make, say, a giant tower jutting out of a large wall. Or, to make solid, impenetrable masses of something, like walls with fused joints. You can even take rocks and cram them against other objects in the game. Like this: K-OO-L. * The Fixed setting will adjust the Object’s physics so that it cannot be phased through other objects, but will otherwise stay where ever you put it, regardless of gravity. Like how we placed this giant Colosseum wall against the ginormous sides of the map: * The Normal setting is exactly what it says: Normal, real world(ish) physics. Objects will be subject to the laws of gravity and whatever other rules and regulations reality has imposed on us. So, for example, if you let go of an object, it will drop to the ground like so: So, Once we got the hang of the basics, we set about filling the map with interesting stuff. Like this tank: Or this awesome boulder: Or some buildings: This could go on for years, and it should! But in order to actually make your map playable, you’ll need to add gadgets to make it function like multiplayer maps should. This means respawn points for dead soldiers, and weapons, like this one here: And while you’re at it, it might be pretty fun to put in some two-way teleporters to throw your opponents off. We used two of them. One here: And one here: The important thing is to keep adding objects while keeping your mind on two things: stuff to do, and places to go. There’s no point in adding a huge tower or giant bunker if you place it up in the air where your players will never be able to get to it. Use ramps, teleporters, bridges and other structures liberally until you’ve created a varied, and hopefully dangerous place to play. Test Your MapOnce you feel like you’re done, it’s time to test it out. You can do this with friends, or alone (as we did). Just click up on your d-pad (or select Game Mode from the start menu) to be returned to normal play, and get going. Here’s how our test went:
Untitled from Ross Lincoln on Vimeo. Satisfied? Click save, and your map will be stored in your Game files (accessible from the Halo: Reach Main menu). Now stop reading. Since you know how to use the Forge in Halo: Reach, it’s time to start wasting.. um… time. Additional Resources:No surprise that the Bungie forums are full of good advice. We also found useful information via the Halo: Reach wikia. You might like our comprehensive walkthrough. Still not even sure you want it? Consult our review and decide for yourself.
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| Posted: 08 Oct 2010 11:10 AM PDT
When most players hear the term Free-to-play Action-RPG, an image of Diablo or Torchlight-like 3rd person looting and clicking probably comes to mind. While Vindictus has elements of that click, kill, loot formula in it, the visuals and gameplay are actually far more similar to Capcom’s Monster Hunter series or Atlus’s Demon’s Souls than Blizzard’s diabolic click fest.
Since everyone picks from the playable archetypes and can then customize or develop from there initially there was the sameness you expect from early levels of an online game. The player works through many tasks and earns new skills, weapons and equipment by taking missions established in the game’s social hub area – which in the beginning is a small village. These missions reminded me a lot of Monster Hunter’s bounty contracts and often required me to rally at the nearby dock to find a group of fellow adventurers who were pursuing the same goal. Once a group assembles, the game transports all the players in a team to an instance where usually you roam through ruins or an enclosed area killing enemies and earning rewards. Since it’s an action RPG, Vindictus plays less like the “click, watch, click, combo click” style of games like World of Warcraft, and instead uses active combat and positioning in real time like Turbine’s Dungeons & Dragons Online. There are still combination skills and weapon attacks, and the environment of the instances is infinitely more reactive and destructive than a traditional MMO allows. I found that even just in the short time I spent roaming the Beta characters quickly learned new skills and diversified in appearance quickly.
There are a lot of features that Vindictus has in its back pocket, I suspect. During the Beta I did not get a very clear picture of what the tiered content model associated with the free-to-play approach would mean, but at this point I was able to have fun and earn levels while spending no money over multiple play sessions. Nexon understands the desires of free-to-play casual games, but this looks like a good first step into more serious, adult MMORPG territory. I’d recommend if you’re even a little interested you sign up when the game opens up later this month.
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| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Review Posted: 08 Oct 2010 10:56 AM PDT Castlevania. The very name invokes images of a man rendered in 8-bit graphics swinging a whip at all sort of monsters you normally only see when answering the door on Halloween. Now, the Belmonts have returned in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Konami’s reboot of the franchise. First off, this is not the Castlevania of our youth. MercurySteam has constructed a game that is more action adventure than anything else. There are some puzzles to solve, and plenty of secrets to find, but at its core, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows is a linear adventure through a variety of locations. Lord of Shadows utilizes a combat style that is not unlike God of War; in fact, it shows a considerable amount of influence from Sony’s iconic title. You’ll find yourself fighting waves of monsters with your combat cross using a variety of combos and special moves. These special moves can be unlocked using the experience points you gain along the way, and are almost a requirement to get through the myriad boss battles which have you fighting everything from shape-shifting Lycans to giant Crow Witches, Titans, and golems. For me, the boss fights were a highlight of the game. A number of interesting additions to the formula give it even more depth. First up are secondary weapons. These include throwing daggers containing bones of saints, dark crystals that can summon a demon to fight for you, and even fairies (yes, fairies) that can be used to distract enemies. The second addition is magic. You’ll gain access to both light and shadow magic as you travel. Light magic allows you to heal yourself with every blow, and shadow magic increases damage dealt. Both of these types of magic are vital to your success, and combing the two effectively makes the way a lot easier. To replenish your magic, you need to string together combos without taking damage, so button mashing isn’t really a viable option. Navigating the world is fairly straightforward, and the fixed camera actually works fairly well. Climbing and jumping reminds me a bit of Uncharted, but the addition of the Combat Cross means that you can also swing, rappel, and climb or descend places that you can’t simply clamber up to. All of this combat takes place in a world that is not what we’re used to from Castlevania games. The locales run the gamut from forests to frozen tundra to swamps and even vampire castles in the mountains. The graphics are gorgeous, and make you want to explore the environments much further than the game will actually allow. Nice lighting effects show off the environment, and little details (like crumbling stones to indicate areas that be broken through) play a role in discovering much of what Lords of Shadow has hidden. What is hidden are usually gems that you must collect to increase the size of your magic or health bars. In many cases, you need to backtrack to areas that you have already visited to retrieve items that you didn’t have the ability to obtain before. However, this backtracking never feels forced or unwieldy. In fact, you never feel compelled to do it, unless you want to complete the (somewhat arbitrary) bonus objectives that are added after you finish a level for the first time. Lords of Shadow’s puzzles are both a bright spot and a drag on the game. Some of them are inspired, such as when you must align three interlocking rings to reach a woman before a swinging pendulum blade cleaves her apart. Some of them are repetitive and overused, especially those that have you breaking through doors or finding two keys to proceed. I won’t say that they were put in simply to pad the game’s length, but that’s the net effect that they have. One of my favorite features in the game is the mount system. Now, don’t get carried away. You won’t have a horse at your beck and call throughout, but what you do have is the ability to “ride” a variety of different creatures. There’s a spectral horse that appears to help you advance through parts of the story, but that’s only the beginning. Creatures like giant spiders, wargs and trolls can all be attacked until stunned, and then mounted. You’ll gain the use of the mount’s attacks in these situations, and you’ll also need to make use of them to move forward when they appear. For example, the giant spider can shoot webbing that forms a narrow footbridge over gaps, and it can also use its web to pull down obstacles in your way. The troll can smash through large obstacles that you can’t surmount on your own, and the warg can leap large distances and climb certain walls. Still, once your mount has served its purpose, you simply strangle it and move on, making the enjoyment temporary. As you probably know, Patrick Stewart appears in Lords of Shadow, both as the narrator and a character in the game. The main character, Gabriel Belmont, is voiced by Robert Carlyle, who I remember best as Renaud in ‘The World is Not Enough.’ He also can be seen in The Full Monty and Trainspotting. While the game’s script is forgettable, the voice acting is solid throughout, which should be no surprise given the caliber of the talent. All in all, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is an admirable reboot for the classic series. Sure, it borrows a bit from other games here and there, but what game doesn’t in this day and age. In fact, the borrowing actually makes the game more fun in places. Lords of Shadow does bog down from time to time, but when it focuses on action, it’s excellent. It’s also that rare action title that rewards players for doing something other than button mashing, something we could use a lot more of. This is a game that fans of action adventure or Castlevania should definitely check out. Pros:
Cons:
Score: 85/100
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