ttocs

Fallout MMORPG?  I haven't heard anything about that since '07.  They were talking about making one before Fallout 3 came out, but then it kind of fell off the face of the earth.  Initial release date was supposed to be 2010, but there's no way in hell it will see daylight this decade.

When I first heard about Mass Effect, it was a year before it's release.  I was cruising around on the video game blogs out there and stumbled across a new game being developed by the minds behind KOTOR.  KOTOR, up until the day Mass Effect came out, was my all time favorite video game.  When Mass Effect finally came out though, that all changed.  I found a game world that I truly got lost in.  It had everything I love in video games, a great story, third person shooting, morality, choices, unlockables, love relationships, etc.  This game was everything I had hoped for.  There's something about making a character and living in the world.  Mass Effect placed you directly into the world and threw species, technology, and diverse relationships amongst crew members right at you, one after another...and I loved ever minute of it.  As soon as I finished Mass Effect, I went back to the main screen and started up a new game without hesitation.  I can't say that about many games.

The novels were pretty good reads, but it's not the same as a Mass Effect 2.  I don't think anybody thought there wouldn't be a Mass Effect 2, it was just a matter of when.  Well, the wait is over and it looks like Mass Effect 2 will be coming out...eventually.  Little is known about the sequel to my game of my lifetime, but one thing is fairly certain...Shepard is dead?  That can't be.  How could I die?  I saved the entire Citadel, nay, the entire universe against the fate of the Reapers.  I don't die...I thrive under these conditions.  That's why I think this is just one of those game marketing ploys to get people hyped about a sequel.  Most likely, the story will pick up with Shepard in dire straits and in need of an evac.  Something went down, that was bloody to say the least, and Shepard is definitely down on his luck.  I can't see them killing of this character after the two of you have been through so much.  My guess?  You'll pick up with him as the main character.  I hope I am right.

Over the next few months, I'm going to be watching the video game blogs around the net very closely for more information on this game.  Hopfully my theory will be correct and the fate of the universe will once again rest on the shoulders of Scott Shepard...yeah, I'm that vain, I named him after me. 

"It's a pretty dumbed down RTS game, but other then that it's pretty good. A damn shame that is is Ensemble Studios' last game though."

"No, no one bought this game.  You are the only person on this site who has it."

I can really see EA trying to pick this one up.

"DOUBLESHOCK said:

"oh jeez I forgot about BF2.  I remember that, but the game didn't rely on it as much.  COD4 seemed to have built it's entire game around ranks and unlocks.  World at War moved the cap up to 65 because they knew a big reason people play is to rank up and unlock stuff."

Yes it's true, CoD4 took ranking/unlocking in an FPS to a whole new level and it's the single most thing I think that game can be credited with progressing in the genre. But like almost every other FPS out there, nothing done in CoD4 was entirely new, just really really refined. Though in the end it doesn't matter so long as the player is having fun, and people seem to really dig CoD4."

I'm an avid FPS fan.  I think the only genre that matches my love of FPS is a good Western RPG (with the occasional JRPG thrown in).  So, it's easy to see why I picked up Killzone 2 on the first day it was available.  I was pretty excited about it, but didn't buy into the big hype train that has been rolling through internet land for some time now.  So, after playing the game for a good 6-7 hours, there are a couple things I love and a few things I'm not too thrilled about.  They are below.

Graphics: Wow.  Just, wow.  I knew the game was going to look good, but this game looks amazing.  It's not evident at first either.  When you see the characters talking, you think, "Yeah, they look good, but they aren't THAT good."  It's not until you get into a firefight in the middle of a refinery type place and see buildings soaring overhead with flags barely visibly blowing in the distance.  With bullets whizzing by, you notice the wall chip off where impact was made.  This game scores an A+ in ambiance visuals.  You can really get lost in this world.

Controls: I'm not too crazy about the controls.  They aren't bad, you can definitely make due with them, but they aren't that great.  I haven't put my finger on why either.  Some people are saying it has to do with the reaction time the game takes to notice you pushed the analog stick.  I don't know...but whatever it is, it needs to be looked into (which Guerrilla are currently doing).  Don't let this hamper your enjoyment of the game though.  You can definitely get through the game with the controls a little off.  If you are a CoD FPS player, or a Left 4 Dead shooter fan, the change may be rough, as it was with me.  Online is a little tough too.  Plus, you may need to change the default control scheme.  On default, L1 is melee and R3 is down the scope.  I changed this so that they switched and it was more like a COD type setup.  This is just personal preference though.  With this change though, the one thing that is lacking now is cover.  L2 is cover and L1 is scope now, so it makes for an awkward learning curve.  But, you get over it.  Also, there is a configuration to make it so you can either stay in down the scope mode until you hit a button, or until you release the button.  That was helpful.

Gameplay:  The gameplay is solid.  Shooting the gun feels awesome and some guns are even fun to fire.  You almost feel like you are really shooting a gun.  When you shoot an enemy in the leg, they hobble, chest, they brace themselves back, the head, they die.  It's very believable.  Guerrilla made one hell of a believable game.  The only thing they forgot to put in was memorable characters and a decent story.  Like all the reviews are saying though, this is forgivable since everything else is so top notch.  Also, why is my guy so damn short.  When I see him in cutscenes, he's a big brute of a man like everyone else.  Yet, when I am standing next to people, I could headbutt their chest.  Not sure why that was done, but, like everything else, you get over it.

Audio: I know it's a warzone, but tone down the gratuitous cussing.  Wow, that's a lot of F-Bombs.

Multiplayer:  This is where Killzone is going to shine.  I put in about an hour and a half with the multiplayer and so far it's great.  Starting out, you can only pick one class and that's the basic grunt.  You get either the scoped rifle or the Hellghast rifle but as you accumulate experience, you unlock other classes with the medic being the first class.  The medic can revive downed teammates to being with.  But, as you play with the medic, eventually you will unlock another badge that lets you toss out ammo packs.  Same goes with all classes.  Their primary badge is given to you at the start, but you can unlock something else of theirs and become that much more powerful.  The engineer class looks like it might be my favorite as I love making turrets.  As for the matches themselves, you join a game and then play.  The match leader picks what games get played (deathmatch, search and destroy types, etc.) and you begin the first in the list.  When the match is over, you aren't taken back to a lobby, instead, you continue walking around for a couple seconds until the next match begins...with you in the same spot you ended up in with the previous game.  This is a brilliant method to multiplayer and I'm at a loss why this hasn't been done before (if it has, I didn't play that game).  Overall though, multiplayer is going to be very strong with this game and people will be playing this for years.  Easily.

If you own a PS3, get this game.  It doesn't matter if you are a 360 fanboy, wii fan (sorry for you... ;), or otherwise...this game is good.  I can't wait to see how Guerrilla plans to support the game over DLC.  So, go pick this one up, kill some Hellghast, and I'll see you in the Warzone!

"ttocs said:

"it's straight up killin' (in the game, I'm not killing her...)"

Do it man, then blame it on the game so you won't serve any time!
"

Soon as I get off work I'm picking this bad boy up.  Won't be able to play it for a couple hours though because I have to take the girlfriend to the store...but when we get home...it's straight up killin' (in the game, I'm not killing her...)

Yeah, this is definitely a good JRPG to pick up.  I'm loving it so far.  If you like collectibles and unlocking different things, then this game is really for you.  There's so much stuff to collect it's almost maddening.  Each character has 200 battle skills to unlock.  Some include kill 200 enemies, do 10 hits in a row, etc.  200 for each character and you only unlock while they are active/you are playing them.  That's a lot of unlocking to look forward to!  I recommend getting the game guide if you do get into the game though.  It's really good and one of the better ones I've seen lately.