I always talk about how launch trailers are the best trailers, but here we have an exception to that rule. While most launch trailers will provide us with glimpses of the grandest of set pieces and tenses of situations. The Medal of Honor launch trailer, on the other hand, is all about the mundane, normal aspects of war. “This is walking down a street,” the narrator tells us. He continues: “This is opening a door and shooting bad guys. And this is not letting that guy with that knife kill you.”
It’s all so very unexciting after years of modern combat shooters, and it only serves to back up what Shawn had to say about the game. But don’t take my word for it.
Live television is coming to the Xbox 360 on Friday. When it arrives, you’ll be able to use your Xbox 360 as a cable box and DVR with U-Verse TV.
A few notes:
You can only use the 360 as a set-top box in a house/apartment/whatever where you have a non-360 U-Verse set-top box.
Your 360 must have a hard drive for this to work, dumbass.
You have to pay $99 for an “Xbox kit,” and you actually have to pay somebody to go to your home, put a disc in your Xbox and install software.If you’re a new subscriber, the technician will do that as part of the regular installation, and if you’re a current subscriber, it will cost you $55 to pay someone to put a disc in your 360′s disc drive.
What’s the point of this, then? It keeps you from having to pay for an extra box/DVR. That’s it. So it’s nice for U-Verse customers and not at all exciting for people like me, who live in a part of time in which AT&T does not offer U-Verse.
The Writer is out October 12, 2010, exclusively on Xbox Live and costs 560 MP ($7)
Writers have a phrase, “murder your darlings,” a warning against overly-clever prose. There comes a time when the writer has to stop trying so hard, and just go with it. That’s where Alan’s head is at in The Writer, the third and final DLC pack for Alan Wake.
He has momentum. He’s been locked in a mysterious nightmare since May, separated from his wife and stalked by shadowy beings called The Taken. All things considered, he’s handled it pretty well.
As he’s deduced snippets of terrifying truth about his situation, he’s somehow achieved a firmer grasp on reality. He even has something approximating a sense of humor in this final (demented) act.
Which is surprising, since Bright Falls is caving in on itself in The Writer. As Wake describes it, it’s like Bright Falls “isn’t even bothering to act like it’s a real place” anymore. There are floating islands of forest everywhere, hills and trees are distorted, curlicued. It’s like the bizarro version of the place has taken over. The scenery is coolest thing about The Writer, for sure.
Wake is still searching for the enigmatic ghost writer (literally) Thomas Zane, a voice of reason in the darkness. He still offers Wake assistance and guidance. Why, we still don’t know. Zane suggests that Wake head to the Bright Falls Lighthouse, which is symbolic enough in a place full of shadowy monsters and darkness.
Those monsters, The Taken, are definitely in The Writer. Hoardes of them. They attack in even larger numbers than they did in The Signal (the previous DLC pack). It’s worth mentioning that Alan Wake has certainly kept some of the irritating quirks about it’s combat system. It still feels like you can’t escape when you’re surrounded, even if you run. It’s still silly that you automatically equip weapons when you pick them. That’s just how the game plays. No biggie. I’ve long since forgiven these things.
These nitpicks aren’t that noticeable, since there are fun new ways to blow things up in The Writer, using the environment. Wake will often face The Taken on steep hillsides. They’ll come charging up at him from below. It’s the kind of situation where you wish you had like 5 exploding barrels to roll down at them–and that’s what you have. You can shoot triggers, which send these barrels a’rolling, and they deciminate any Taken in their warpath down below.
There’s also the more obvious “explosion” words, which if shot simply trigger a giant explosion. Good fun.
Like The Signal, there’s something kind of like a Boss Fight in The Writer. It’s Alan’s dude-bro, Barry of all people. Well, it’s fake-evil-Barry, the one who haunts him in the dark place.
Earlier I mentioned the “murder your darlings” saying, and that’s exactly the phrase that Barry taunts Alan with. He challenges Alan, suggesting that he has to murder his child, before he can move on and finish the story. One thing you have to give to Alan Wake, is how it folds the layers of gameplay, setting and narrative, and weaves them together so they reflect back on one another in a way that’s still fun.
This theme is expressed in a playful way in the collectibles in The Writer. Guess what they are? Bright Falls “Video Games.” In a video game that commonly presents literary themes, which become realities in the game, there are collectible video games…
When you get the end of The Writer (probably about 2 hours after you start it), you’ll have a crystal clear understanding of where Alan Wake is, how he got there, and why. It is a realization you may have managed to work out after the ending of the main game, but it is clearly revealed in this chapter. It’s not a firm conclusion, but it’s not a cliffhanger either.
Wake has new purpose, and he himself understands what’s happening. It’s a shame we’ll have to wait until Alan Wake 2 to find out just how many of his darlings he’ll have to murder before he’s truly free.
The Writer is out October 12, 2010, exclusively on Xbox Live and costs 560 MP ($7)
Those of us who have been using Xbox Live for the better part of a decade have come to take the service for granted, and it’s easy for us to forget that Xbox Live doesn’t exist in many places, as only 26 countries currently have access to the service.
But the people of nine new countries will finally be able to make use of the totally awesome ability to fill their hard drives with game trailers. Those countries are: Russia, Poland, South Africa, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile. November 10 is the day you folks will want to remember. I trust you’ll all, on that day, download piles of Mass Effect 2 DLC.
I’m very happy about this, partly because bringing Xbox Live to new places feels a lot like bringing religion to the savages, and that always worked out really well. But I’m mostly happy about this because it means I might actually get to make use of my Portuguese fluency.
A video game with collectible video games in it — truly, a mind-bending, hall-of-mirrors style occurence. On your way through The Writer, the last Alan Wake DLC, you’ll want to keep an eye out for 10 collectible video games scattered around the environment. We’ll have the full list of the games and their locations, as soon as it’s available. In the meantime, try not to get munched on by the shadows!
All the gamerscore-padders out there will be happy to see that Alan Wake has shown up with another set of DLC and another set of achievements. Nine more are available for the taking, bringing the total for the game up to 1500. Whether you’re playing for the points, or just interested in which things you should keep an eye for when not focusing on the plot, the achievements are listed below.
Ding! – Special 2: Complete the elevator ride – 5G
Kill Your Darlings – Special 2: Defeat the final obstacle between you and your goal – 50G
Go Gentle Into That Good Light - Special 2: Make it through the approach to the lighthouse without firing a weapon – 25G
No Punctuation - Special 2: Complete the episode without reloading the game or restarting a checkpoint – 50G
Iron Will – Special 2: Survive the final encounter without being seriously hurt – 25G
Whirlwind – Special 2: Make your way past the tornado in under 60 seconds – 20G
Licensed Properties – Special 2: Discover 10 Night Springs video games – 30G
Creative Space – Special 2: Discover the secret area – 25G
Heartbreaker – Special 2: Have some poison poured in your ear.
The final DLC package for Alan Wake is here. The Writer promises to wrap up some story lose ends, bringing closure to an adventure that devoted fans began way back in the spring. Whether or not you’re satisfied with the ending once you get to it, we’ve got our crack walkthrough writer on the case to make sure you arrive. He’ll be pointing out opportunities to snag the DLC’s collectible “Night Springs” video games, as well as simply helping you not get killed.
ACHIEVEMENT: First off, note that if you can get through this entire episode without dying or reloading your game, you’ll unlock the “No Punctuation” Achievement. That’s doable in the first go, but probably easier to achieve on another playthrough.
Turn around from the gate and start looking around. Ahead on the right, you’ll notice a valve you can turn. This rotates the light pole above you. When you touch the valve, you’ll see a floating word above the wall to the right. You need to get the light swinging on the pole so that it hits the word. Just try to shake the light around when it’s in position.
That crumbles the wall between you and the next courtyard. Grab the flashlight that appears and turn around. On the shed to the left, you’ll see the word “surprise.” Zap it with the flashlight.
You’ll be attacked by a possessed object, which busts through the wall of the shed. Kill it with your light and climb through the hole. Zap the words there to get some batteries, a revolver and ammo, and to create a ladder on the outside of the shed.
Climb up. Walk to the edge of the shed near the wall and you’ll see a path you can follow. Take it to a hole in the wall and you’ll see another “recharge” word you can zap to get some more batteries. Head left from there.
When you get to the statue, zap “pump” to get a shotgun. Now you’re armed, which means you’re about to be attacked. Not until you go through the hedge maze, however. The path branches left and right. You’ll go to the right to advance, but sit tight a second.
GAME: This chapter has 10 collectibles to find: copies of the Night Springs video game. Your first copy is at the end of the winding path if you go left down the fork from where you got the pump action shotgun. You’ll find it on the painting easel at the dead end.
Go back down the other path and after a moment, you’ll link back up with Barry. After speaking with him, take the road away from the car to the left toward Zane’s light.
As you enter the yard in front of the building, you’ll trigger a big fight with Taken. They come at you in three waves, the last of which being the most threatening.
First up, zap the word “tools” on the right of Barry’s tower to get a stockpile of ammo for a revolver, which is on the ground just beyond it. There also is shotgun ammo here. Take it all, as you’re about to need it.
Taken will show up next from the right side of the tower if you’re facing it from where you entered here. Run over to the fireworks and start using the flashlight to set them off. That’ll create a big light field that will, at minimum, drain the darkness from your enemies and make them vulnerable to bullets.
TIP: Keep your head on a swivel here. Fighting among the fireworks is advantageous because it’ll occasionally kill Taken, but it’s extremely hard to see or hear them coming up on you. Decide for yourself if it’s worth the trade-off.
Kill off the first group of Taken and you’ll hear the crazy Wake narration start up again. When this happens, check behind you — a big Taken guy appears over the wall near the fireworks, and more are coming from other directions. Try to keep moving to avoid being flanked.
You’ll deal with that group fairly easily if you keep your eyes up and keep looking for enemies. The shotgun is great here because it drops enemies that get close really quickly. The last group will appear from the far side of the fireworks and from the right rooftop again, and big guys will be mixed in.
The threat of the big Taken is severely limited by the fireworks field. As long as you can quickly identify targets, you’ll be able to finish off the last of the enemies. After that, most of the lights will go out and you’ll be free to resupply.
Check the back right corner near the lodge, outside, to find a recharge word that will spawn you batteries. There’s another set inside the lodge to the right. From there, move forward and you’ll see a bunch of possessed objects pick up and fly around the room.
Sit tight for a moment and Zane will appear, vanquishing all the objects with his light. You’ll need to head outside to talk to him.
GAME: First, though, check around the other side of the fireplace, near where the objects just were. You’ll see a copy of Night Springs on the hearth. The fireplace is in the center of the room.
GAME: Run outside by way of the door in the front of the room on the left. Zane will start to speak with you. Go down the stairs and all the way to the end of the balcony, where the game copy is sitting near the wall on the left on top of a garbage can.
Listen to Zane and then head to the right, near the sundial. Grab that Manuscript Page to spawn a bunch of words out in the void ahead. Zap them all to create a bridge of rocks out to a little boat. Get out to the boat and stand inside it, then clear the word “float” ahead, then “tools.”
Attached to the boat is a little anchor buoy. Once you clear that, the boat will float you down to the new island you just made. There you’ll find batteries and revolver ammo from the “tools” word. Grab what you need, then zap “Cabin” to create a house in front of you.
Stepping into the cabin sets it spinning end over end. You’ll need to wait for the house to rotate all the way upside-down before you can run through the hole you entered by and jump to the path beyond. But there’s a Night Springs game to get first.
GAME: This one is tough. As soon as the house starts spinning, backtrack out onto the porch. Wait for it to rotate so that you can climb up onto the fence surrounding the little porch as the house rotates on its side. You’ll need to walk with the rotation of the house carefully so as to not fall off. Drop first onto the underside of the foundation; then onto the back side of the house against the overhang of the roof; and finally onto the roof itself, where you’ll find the game copy. You can try to get inside after you’re done, or just jump off the house onto the platform below, which will hurt.
On the next path, a whirlwind appears. Your next task: ride it. Go to the Manuscript Page you see land at the far end of the walkway and trigger it to create words that say bridge.” Start zapping them.
ACHIEVEMENT: Get through this section with the tornado in under 60 seconds (which isn’t really that difficult if you know what you’re doing) to grab the “Whirlwind” Achievement.
When you see one you’re comfortable with (I suggest a bus), jump on and just stand still. You’ll see a word ahead — “path” — which you can zap to make a place to jump off.
Upon landing, look up the path for a big Taken coming your way. Kill him and follow the path to the top, where you’ll do the bridge thing again to another path section. Look for the bed, it’s the easiest to deal with. Be careful with your jumps and try to get a running start.
Climb the ladder you find here and move through the train car. At the far end, clear the “rocks” to make a path. You’ll enter a big log, talk to Zane, and find some “reload” and “recharge” items. Continue through to the other side.
When you exit the log and move to the big area ahead, you’ll enter a Taken-infested area. They’ll come at you in several groups, but you have to just push forward along the path. Eventually that path terminates at a cliff, which you can drop from, or circumvent by moving around to the left.
Whenever you see Taken, check for the word “roll” uphill from them. Hitting one of these words triggers explosive barrels to fall and roll down the hill. If they hit any Taken, they’ll explode, killing or damaging them. They’re highly useful, so keep your eyes open for good opportunities.
The first Taken appear up the hill from you. When you venture down some, more will appear ahead. Use the barrels and you’ll have a very easy time. Move down and find the path through the wood gate.
Grab the “tools” from the left side of the gate, then follow the path around to the right. You’ll see the word “hole” fall down an actual hole. You can’t hit it with the flashlight, but you can drop a flare down there. If you have one, do it. Zap the word “fireworks” ahead to load up on a bucket of flares.
When you drop the flare down in the well, you’ll create a hole in the pipe ahead. Go inside and follow it to the far end. You’ll find a hole you can drop through.
In the next section of pipe, be prepared to fight Taken. The section you’re in runs parallel to another section to your left. As you move forward here, a Taken will appear behind you. Kill it and take one of the junctions to the next section, where you’ll stumble on two regular Taken and one guy with a chainsaw, right in front of you.
Don’t screw around — pop one of the many flares you should be carrying and use it to fend off the enemies. Use your flashlight to clear their darkness and you can start firing away.
Watch your back for any additional Taken — there might still be one or two sneaking around — and drop down the lit hole ahead. You can explore more here, but there’s nothing to find.
In the next pipe section, follow the walkway to the left. You’ll hear some narration from crazy Wake, then enter a building beyond. Everything here starts rotating again — you’re actually on some kind of ferris wheel, in which a bunch of the buildings from Wake’s memory are strung together to make a path.
Keep moving and try to stay relatively ahead of the wheel. Just keep heading through doors and avoiding furniture — you don’t want to be dragged up the wheel and then dropped, because it could kill you.
The wheel stops when you hit the edge of a small body of water. You’ll see a ghost version of Wake jump in, so follow it and you’ll land in another set of buildings, with the wheel picking up again.
Work your way forward carefully. As you start to approach areas that look like the hydroelectric dam from the main game, you’ll have to cut back into a room that’s rotating in another direction from what you’ve been dealing with. These rooms will be rolling up to meet you, so you’ll have to wait for them to arrive or risk falling.
Keep moving until you get through the vault, the Well-Lit Room, and into a hallway beyond with an elevator. Hit the button and get inside fast to avoid the room rotating over on itself. If that happens, try to stand on nearby furniture, and then on the fence behind you as it rotates below.
ACHIEVEMENT: Hit the button in the elevator to earn the “Ding!” Achievement.
You’ll exit the elevator into Stucky’s Gas Station. Tag the words to get a recharge on ammo and supplies. Check the back of the shelf near the words for a hunting rifle if you want it, but I’d stick with the shotgun for which you have ammo.
When you’re done, head outside. You’ll trigger a Taken attack after a moment, and in truth the longer you stay out here, the more enemies you’ll fight as they respawn. But there are things to do before you head toward that Safe Haven to the left.
First, look for the “boom!” words all over the place. These are flash bangs and they’ll instantly destroy Taken. They also have a tendency to self-destruct one another and set off chain reactions, so use them when they’re advantageous.
Ideally, you want to blow a boom near you to take out the Taken in the first wave, then work around the area blowing more booms as necessary. Start by working your way to the right, toward the big deer float truck, to get a Night Springs game.
GAME: Beyond the deer float, and toward the cliff side beyond, you’ll find broken bed without a mattress and the Night Springs copy on it. It’s a little to the left of the truck. Be careful of attack while you get it.
You’re done here. Fight your way back to the Safe Haven and advance over the log. As you cross, zap in the “wires” on either side of you, then turn and head down the hill.
Below you, Taken are spawning. You’ve got plenty of room to destroy them from afar. Just be on the lookout for flying axes.
When you’re clear, head down, zap in any more wires and get the bridge as well. Cross it, zap the last wire in, and activate the generator behind the gas station.
Head back to the newly formed Safe Haven at that button. Lower the log lift down to make a bridge and cross it. No need to wander around here: follow the path under the bridge to meet up with Zane again. Then head up to the bridge.
GAME: Check the right side of the jackknifed log-hauling truck to find this copy. It’s between the truck and the edge of the bridge.
Head to the end of the bridge and look left, where you’ll find tools and a staircase. Start climbing — before long you’ll run into a lone Taken, and then two more on the landing above him.
The next landing has three Taken, but zap the word “boom!” and you’ll kill them all immediately. Move up to the top and you’ll see words laid out in front of you — “boom” and “crumble.” Then Taken arrive.
These words aren’t as dangerous as you might think. Crumble sounds like it could backfire on you, but what it should say is “crushing death from the sky.” Zap “crumble” and a car or bus falls out of the air and takes out that section of bridge — it’s great against Taken.
Use the words to your advantage as you move up. Be careful that occasionally, a boom will trigger a crumble. For the most part, though, you shouldn’t struggle.
There’s actually nothing here but that Safe Haven. In fact, if you gun for it, you can bypass this protracted fight altogether. On the far side, you’ll interact with Zane before he creates a path for you. Cross it and grab tools at the far side.
GAME: Before you advance, from the tools spot, look to the left. You should see a rusting orange piece of construction equipment. Run around behind it and hug the rock wall on your right to find the next Night Springs copy.
Advance forward and create the rock to make a path. You’ll soon enter a cave and then find a wood path leading up the cliff side. Sprint on it, as it collapses beneath you.
At the top, you’ll see Taken ahead. Watch for one behind you, and then start dealing with the ones coming from the front. You can look up to see one of those weird iron statues with the ball in it, with the word “flash” beside it. Hit the word and these statues turn into roving searchlights.
Clear the Taken from ahead of you and move forward over the bridge. Look for more “flash” words you can zap as you move along. They’ll be high above you. At the top, you’ll cross a rope bridge where birds will attack you. Take them out as you go, as there are Taken just across on the other side.
This is a good spot for a flare. It’ll help clear the birds and push back the enemies. Kill them as you head forward. You’re clear to the Safe Haven now.
Follow the path up and you’ll hit some wood walkways. They sway, so be careful. As you zap in a rock between them, a Taken will appear, but you can just stun him with your light and get past him. A little further on, you’ll enter Dr. Hartman’s lodge again.
You’ll have to sit through a little exchange between Hartman and Wake. After that, hit the button on the tape recorder to play a message from Alice.
ACHIEVEMENT: After you leave the room following this little display, you’ll get the “Heartbreaker” Achievement.
Exit through the door and walk out the lodge through the cave. You’ll emerge outside. Check the left wall of the cliff for a place to climb up. At the top, you can grab tools, and use the “tremor” word to bring the wing of the plane down where you can reach it. Jump on it and cross down to the center.
ACHIEVEMENT: This is where you can nab the “Creative Space” Achievement. Cross from the center of the fuselage over the other wing to the cliff ahead. Be careful, though — there’s a gap in the wing that you can fall through, and once that happens, you’re out of luck as far as getting back up there. On the other side, you’ll find some equipment you can take.
When you hit the ground, you’ll be attacked by Taken. You shouldn’t have too much trouble with them.
GAME: Check the inside of the plane’s fuselage for another copy of Night Springs.
Head away from the fuselage over ground to the left. Look for the lights ahead to guide you. More Taken will spawn along the way, but you don’t necessarily have to fight them if you peg the right path to take. Get to the Safe Haven up there and you’re in the clear.
Talk with Zane just ahead, grab tools, and grab the Manuscript Page after he departs. Zap “memory” for a short exchange with Alice.
Leave the Safe Haven and head up the hill some more. You’ll hit a word that says “ignite.” Zap that and you’ll reactivate the light house, which is a powerful, sweeping tool of destruction around this area.
ACHIEVEMENT: If you can get away without firing your gun until you get to the lighthouse, you’ll earn the “Go Gentle Into That Good Light” Achievement. The trick is to let the lighthouse do your fighting. Pop some of those many flares you should still have if you need to.
Across the bridge from the ignite spot, you’ll round the corner and see Taken coming. Hit both the words “clear” with your light to get rid of the rocks in the area, allowing the lighthouse to sweep along and annihilate all the Taken.
Move up, but go slow. Step around the corner, zap the “clears,” and fall back if you need to. Draw the Taken into the lighthouse beam and make sure it can hit them up ahead. In this way, even though Taken are all over the place and respawning behind you, you should avoid any fighting or injury.
There’s not much to the strategy here. You don’t need to explore around the outskirts of the path — just keep clearing the rocks and dodging attacks, or backtracking to draw the Taken into the light so you can move up.
Eventually, you’ll find your way up to Safe Haven right before the lighthouse, where you’ll receive your achievement if you didn’t fire your gun.
GAME: Go around the back of the lighthouse when you arrive and look for a red easy chair just hanging out outside. You’ll find your next copy on the chair’s seat.
Now get inside. Climb to the top of the lighthouse. When you get there, burn the word “return” and you’ll find a ladder. Climb that, and you’ll trigger a cutscene and return to the cabin.
GAME: After the cutscene, head up the hill, away from the cabin. At the top, turn left and step up to the overlook spot. There you’ll find a garbage can, and on top of it, your final Night Springs copy. Getting it and the other nine unlocks the “Licensed Properties” Achievement.
Back down at the bottom, zap the word “bridge” and start following it. When you get to the end, you’ll have to fight off a Taken. Pop a flare and use it in conjunction with the flashlight to clear the Taken and move on.
When you step off the bridge, you’ll be in the last major fight of this episode. It involves several boss-level taken, coming at you in waves.
ACHIEVEMENT: If you can get through this fight without being seriously injured, e.g. almost dead with the blinking red screen, you can snag the “Iron Will” Achievement. The best way to do that — stay by the bridge, with your back to it, so you always see your enemies coming. Also feel free to dump the last of your batteries and flares on this fight. You’ll need them.
Right off the bridge is a crate with ammo, and a bunch of loose stuff on the ground. Snag it all and fall back to th bridge. First, you’ll be attacked by a single fast-moving Taken that looks like Dr. Hartman, as well as birds.
The best way to handle this: wait until you hear the birds attacking you and pop a flare. Let them burn up in it and keep your focus on the fast-mover whipping around the island. When he comes close, blast him with light. If he gets in for a strike, dodge and use a flare to get rid of him.
Whittle your enemy down until you knock out his darkness, then snipe him with the pistol. Keep your distance at all times. with your back to the bridge, you can’t be flanked, which will seriously improve your chances of snagging your achievement.
Next, you’ll face two fast-movers. There might be big Taken coming your way as well. Repeat the same process: kill the birds, pick away at the fast guys when they come in range, focus on anything that’s a major threat if it’s coming at you. Use flares to your advantage to keep your enemies back and just slug them with your weapons. Slow, deliberate fighting is key.
Finish that wave and you get a third one: three Barrys, one at a time. The first is a big Taken that stomps right for you. Kill it, and a second appears off to the side and does the same. Kill that one and you get one more: a fast-mover that you can beat in the exact same way you have been.
ACHIEVEMENT: Kill all those guys and the birds that go with them, and clear the darkness from the cabin, and you’ll receive the “Kill Your Darlings” Achievement for your trouble. This one isn’t dependent on how you win, just that you advance.
Your clear. Get inside the cabin for another cutscene.
You guys definitely know already how I feel about Enslaved. I mean, it’s only one of the best games of the year. And when I say that I like a game, you should take notice, because I’m mostly a hateful son of a bitch. So trust me when I say this game, which is only a week old at this point, is worth your money.
And for today, it’s worth even more for your money, because it’s Amazon’s Game Deal of the Day. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are priced down at $49.99, $10 off retail. If you like games, are not a complete douche and (this is the most important part) can afford to throw down on a game today, this should be the one. Unless you’re getting Medal of Honor (our review!), I guess. Really, just do what you wanna do, but keep Enslaved in mind because it’s awesome.
Oh, hey, October 12! Today is the day Borderlands GOTY comes out, and odds are most of the people who buy it will do so because they want a f**king taste of the deliciousness that is Duke Nukem Forever. But maybe you should pause for a second. Just, like, a second.
The demo is going to go out to everybody, yeah. When we put Borderlands out this wasn’t even possible to do or contemplate. So that’s kind of difficult, but yeah, the demo is coming out for everybody.
That’s Gearbox’s VP of something or other* Steve Gibson speaking with Digital Spy, so it’s real and not made up by somebody’s wishful thinking. However, he does not say when that’ll happen, but it’ll undoubtedly be after people in the “First Access Club” get it.
Oh, and he also said that the demo in question will not be the same one folks got to experience at PAX. So we all have something to look forward to.
*He’s the VP of Marketing. Marketing is what he’s VP of.
Last night during Monday Night Football, we were treated to our very first look at the single player campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The trailer still doesn’t give us every detail of what’s going on, but it does remind you that in Black Ops, you don’t even exist.
Medal of Honor has a storied past with gamers. The original console version still stands up as one of the best WWII shooters and the PC multiplayer was long a staple of LAN party play. The last few years however have not been kind to this series. When created by EA in the 1990′s, the key selling point was a recreation of the story behind some remarkable men who earned the highest military honor the United State of America offers.
Medal of Honor breaks with this formula. Following the lead of Activision’s Call of Duty series (which was itself a clone of the Medal of Honor formula at first), MoH moves the series into modern warfare, specifically the Taliban conflict in present day Afghanistan. Rather than focusing on the major Army units, the player assumes special status as a group of soldiers known as Tier 1 operators. These covert elites infiltrate, extract and play forward observer for the better known Army Spec Ops teams, often off the books and without direct Army oversight.
The single-player campaign revolves around this team of operators and the covert actions of hunting down Taliban forces through informants, local friendlies and sneaky night operations. While the arid setting of Afghanistan is visually and tactically much more difficult than the fertile crescent of Iraq, it ended up feeling a lot like more of the same to me.
There is a central evolving storyline and you get a good feel for just how embedded the Tier 1 teams are, with tenuous control by Army high command or even Ranger Spec Ops teams. You are the shadow of the US military, sent far ahead of the line and far afield to prepare the way, root out information and take preemptive action against an enemy that is often very hard to identify, let alone define.
Unfortunately, we’ve seen this exact concept play out over the last three years in Call of Duty and Battlefield: Bad Company games. Sure the setting is different and this is not a made-up alternate timeline, placing some emphasis on some of the challenges our deployed soldiers in Afghanistan face today, but for most gamers I’m pretty sure that impact will drill down to “look I’m shooting bad guys in craggy passes!”
There is a nice selection of missions in Medal of Honor’s central story. It’s not just running though war torn villages or sneaking up on secured compounds. The integration of vehicle gameplay, especially the Apache missions in the late game keep things from feeling too formulaic.
I especially enjoyed the flanking/spotter mission that requires the player to take a nearby air tower to call in massive ordnance on Taliban mobile forces or the mix of day and night missions, particularly the ATV run through the desert to a fortified compound. There are some good moments in this game but it just didn’t feel very distinct overall.
Aside from the one player storyline, the Tier 1 mode introduces a bit of competition to the solo experience. Players can go back and compete for milestones while replaying story missions against their friends. Working to complete objective more efficiently or quickly or comparing kills and the like with friends in a non-linear fashion.
Medal of Honor of course includes a large multiplayer element. Again these multiplayer modes follow the expected formula of a modern shooter. Team oriented gameplay is key here and the Afghan setting is distinct both visually and tactically to make a pretty big impact. The abundance of blind corners and rocky outcroppings, caves and crevices lend well to pop-out assaults. The game modes feature kit-based classes and offer experience systems with unlocks for those who chug through enemy kills.
Due to the setting though, I experienced a big advantage to players who master sniper style play. It’s common to spawn into an active game and die repeatedly at the hands of enemy sharpshooters. Luckily, neither faction is better equipped at first.
Much public debate was raised around the inclusion of the Taliban as a playable force in this title. Well, let’s get this out of the way – aside from soundbites and talking heads no one playing the game really will care or notice. You are not playing missions where you have to torture civilians or military prisoners.
The Taliban here is just a wrapper on a generic enemy force and just like when you were playing Cowboys and Nazi’s on a playground, well someone has the be the Nazis. It doesn’t mean you’re really playing as a Nazi, just that your avatar in game looks like one.
EA’s concession of making the menu say “opposition force” is pure and simple public pandering and is pretty weak. These characters still look exactly the same as they did when they were labeled Taliban. Playing war games does not glorify one side over the other. It’s not a recruitment ploy or social comment – it’s a bunch of gamers at play, and it shouldn’t matter if they were blue skinned N’avi vs. Predators. There is nothing political here to be sensitive too.
Medal of Honor multiplayer supports two 12 person teams in combat. The modes include Combat Mission, Team Assault, Objective Raid and Sector Control. None of these are free-for-all games, instead focusing on teams and objectives. There are eight included maps across the various game modes with Limited Edition players unlocking more once the game begins accepting LE online play codes.
The Limited Edition includes extra options for multiplayer, like two shotguns, and a full copy of the classic Medal of Honor Frontline. Frontline is a PS2 title that is of course set in WWII and while it installs to the hard drive, players must insert the Medal of Honor disk to play. If you missed Frontline when it premiered it is well worth playing as this game manages to do some of the things its latest progeny does not – tell an involving story surrounding a historical soldier who eventually earned a Medal of Honor.
Overall, Medal of Honor is a good game. It’s not different enough from Activision’s series or even EA’s Battlefield games to make it stand out. I felt that the hook to make the game unique just wasn’t there in a market now flooded by modern combat games, just like it was flooded by World War II shooters not five years ago. The multiplayer will feel familiar to battlefield: Bad Company 2 players and since it uses DICE’s Frostbite technology, well that’s to be expected too.
The problem here is Medal of Honor is too much “too be expected” for my tastes. Maybe there really is nowhere else these types of games can evolve.
PROS:
Nice mix of objectives in single and multiplayer modes
Afghanistan setting tactically important in combat
If you can’t wait to get your hands on the next installment of the story of Starkiller, we’ve got some news for you. You can get a little taste of the Star Wars goodness to come on XBox Live right now.
LucasArts has made the demo, which weighs in at a hefty 704 MB, available to all XBox Live users as of this morning. If you’re stuck at work, you can get a jump start on the download by queuing it up right here.
Try not to get overly excited, because the full release of the game isn’t coming for a couple of weeks. It’s slated to land in North America on October 26.
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