Mikey2D

Having written a review for DMC for the xbox 360, everytime I press 'create user review', I am just taken back to the top of the same page and the 'reviewed item' and 'please search for a wiki object to review' are empty (where before submiting they were filled in correctly)

I have since posted my review via the method of going to the games page and review from there. Editing after the fact, however presents the same issue as above.

@Klei: If done reasonably, I think the snow obstructing your vision could work. It would just stop people continually holding down the aim button to move like a snow mobile through the environment. After 'x' amount of seconds, just have it start to cut off the vision a little and continue to grow. It would help increase tension as you'd know you have to choose your moments to get a shot off. When fighitng larger enemies you'd still be able to see their general shape and figure through the snow - the vibration functions on the controller could get heavier the closer the enemy is.

@handlas: Thanks for posting this

Having been rather uninterested in the inclusion of multiplayer in God of War Ascension, this is the first time I've really sat and looked at some of the single player game. Honestly - just wow. The game looks incredible. Sure there might not be huge leaps in innovation in terms of combat and gameplay - but there is no denying that this game looks stunning from a graphical stand point. It's actually made me very interested in picking the game up, where as before I was quite against it. I think in part, Kratos has had ALOT of adventures - all of which I've been on so fatigue was setting in. But this looks so good I might have to pick it up day one. I resisted the urge to watch all the 30 minutes of playthrough, after less then half I'd already seen enough to decide.

Damit - I hope though that this additional time raises the quality of an already undoubtedly amazing game even higher.

It's been great reading all your opinions and its nice to see my post has become a user created highlight :D Thanks for that!

The long and the short of it for me is overall I really enjoyed Dead Space 1 and 2 but I just find I'm not champing at the bit for more Dead Space. Eventually I'll play through it, and so long as it contains some of the things that have made its two predecessors enjoyable - story, atmosphere, strong sound design and ofcourse cinematic 'set pieces' - I'm sure I'll have a great time. I just don't see it being on launch day.

@JEC03: One thing I read recently which might not be great news for you is the PC version of Dead Space is apparently a straight port of the console version, so there's nothing extra (which I'm guessing means no graphical options to play with or anything). It's a game I will probably end up buying - but not on day one I doubt.

@Chontamenti: It really does just feel like a shooter now (at least from the demo's gameplay). As I said in my original post, you have TONS of ammo (but perhaps this is only for the demo, who knows), and there are times when its you and your co-op buddy, versus necromorphs and random dudes with machine guns - plenty of chest high cover to get behind in those sections...sigh.

I like horror games. Not all of them - but most. I really enjoyed Condemned and its sequel. Perhaps they weren't 'horror' in all aspects, but they had great atmosphere and really did rack up the tension at certain points during the game. I remember being incredibly impressed with the original dead space. Part of me loves being scared by games, and the other part of me hates it at the moment of panic inducing fear. Dead Space 2 had its moments - it was certainly much more cinematic than the original, I think anyone's that played it would know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that 'opening' (double meaning) was incredibly strong and a great way to kick things off. But overall it didn't have the same amount of tension throughout, instead deciding to rack up the body count and set the intensity of attacks up to 11. Sometimes it was almost comical how many enemies could seemingly jump out of vents and want to come get some of Issac Clark. It had its merits by all means - but 2 was inferior in my opinion to the original.

Why can't games generally just have a bit of closure? Sequels can always come later, they don't need to be outlined as painfully obvious as they are in so many games (Including Dead Space 2). I'm a fan of the Dead Space series, however, I wasn't overly excited by the prospect of a third entry.

With the demo out, it was an instant download because I was curious enough to want to see how the game played and what if anything co-op could add. After one playthrough, the demo has been deleted from my harddrive. Honestly, I don't feel the demo was very good at all. The co-op side of things feels incredibly weak. The gameplay is becoming closer and closer to Gears of War, and the ammo situation is laughable. I looked at my ammo to find 500 rounds. I seem to remember in earlier games, ammo was limited as hell. You had to take shots carefully for fear of running dry. Here, it's like you have an ammo store strapped to your back. And the most concerning thing of all to me - the demo wasn't scary in the slightest. Perhaps we've become desensitised to the necromorph?

I could see the game was trying to create some atmosphere in the snow, but it just fell flat. Issac struggles to walk through the snow, yet hit aim and he can march through it like a trooper? It would have been better if your vision deteriorated the longer you held your aim, the blizzard effecting your screen. This would of helped in my opinion.

Co-op of this nature could suceed and work incredibly well. I just worry that Dead Space 3 won't deliver. Large sections of gameplay away from your partner could help, perhaps seeing one another from a far but being unable to help during choke points. Hell, even messing with the communication via xbox live could be interesting. Put someone elses voice through my head set, whispering on occasion and making my co-op partner think I'm losing it as they don't hear what I hear. These are just a couple of ideas off the cuff, I'm not sure if such things would be implimented in the game, but here's hoping atleast.

What are others feelings about Dead Space 3? Will you be picking it up day one? And do you have any interesting ideas that would help build tension and atmosphere in a co-op scenario? Share your thoughts.

@Sanious:Some of those combos look incredible :P Love the break dancing one at around 48 seconds :D

@Icemael:Thanks duder! I'll have to try that out. It's odd that they wouldn't share the dodge button information in the tutorial.

To be honest - after a second play through, the countering felt a lot more natural and I had it down pretty good.

@tyler1285: I knew of the counter attacks (which are awesome and brutal) you just have to get that timing down then its great fun. As I said in my original post you can go into cutting mode during those counters and really go to town on the enemy. Great stuff.

I'd been waiting to play the Metal Gear Rising demo since it was first announced way back when. I hadn't picked up the Zone of Enders HD collection (which offered the demo early). So I was happy to see it pop up on my xbox live the other night. After it downloaded, I got stuck in.

I think the demo was just right in its length and content. It gave you just enough to get interested and warranted a second and third playthough in order to really get a feel for the controls. You take out a few of the usual cannon fodder grunts, you get introduced to the next rung of that ladder curtosy of the gecko's and finally you get a taste for the bosses in the form of chainsaw weilding robotic dog, IF prototype LQ84i.

The game - now a third person hack and slash - is certainly a change of pace from your usual Metal Gear Solid gameplay. But with Platinum games at the helm I was pretty confident they would produce a glorious combat system that would hopefully rival Bayonetta's. Raiden has upped his game since Metal Gear Solid 2. From being 'that other guy' in the Metal Gear series, Raiden is now one of the most bad ass cyborg ninja's of all time. If you remember back to those crazy cutscenes in Metal Gear Solid 4, which saw Raiden take down a ton of Gecko's - Metal Gear Rising tries to emulate that madness.

On my first playthrough, I was a bit concerned with the lack of a dodge button which was your veritable bread and butter throughout Bayonetta. But instead Raiden seems to have a parry move performed by hitting forward and the X button, this puts Raiden into a brace like pose and an attack simply gets rejected and pushed away. Timing is rather crucial with this system and after getting the hang of it, I found myself liking it, seeing it as quite skill based in its execution. Perhaps via the upgrade system which the game will feature, we will be able to purchase a dodge mechanic - but if not, I doubt I'll lose any sleep over it.

The level on display during the demo wasn't perhaps the most interesting of locations, curtosy of war torn environment painted in brown - but hopefully the rest of the game offers some more variety.

The cutting mechanics are nice - but not all that far removed from those found within 2009's Afro Samurai. What is great though - is that during Raiden's 'big' moves - say from countering an attack perfectly, there are opportunities during your counter attack to use the precision cutting to turn your foes into sliced bread and beyond - you could (if quick enough) turn them to croutons.

The cast of characters - are interesting enough - not perhaps to the level of Drebin and many others within the original MGS series, but not without their own merits. I limited myself to one or two codec calls - wanting such conversations to be fresh upon playing the full game.

And then there's that soundtrack.

I really hope the full game continues to have music similar to that in the demo - combat seemed to alter the track and it would evolve during your actions in combat - a counter attack seemingly kicking in the beat just at the right time to make the score feel like that of a well crafted movies hitting at just the right moment.

All in all - I was throughly impressed with the demo and see myself picking this game up upon release. The content is a step away from the 'norm' if there is such a thing in the MGS universe, but its a spin off that looks to offer exactly what I'd want out of such an experience.

How did everyone else feel about the demo? Will you be picking the game up on release day?