Call of Duty 4 was my GOTY last year but... Call of Duty World at War was complete bollocks Nothing else really took it for me
Some people called GTAIV disappointing but I think they streamlined the hell out of it and made a game that played perfectly and looked great too. Sure the soundtrack was horrendously horrendous and maybe the lack of stuff to actually spend my millions on was annoying but still, I loved that game. The driving was hard at first but when you got used to it, it felt rewarding and the combat in the game was simply superb. I love the physics in the game and while there weren't loads of weapons, the ones that were there were great. I think that the realistic direction definitely works towards the game because you feel more attached to the city rather than just wanting to blow it up. Yeah it was a great game and the multiplayer wasn't bad either. I remember winning plenty of matches back around when it first came out and that was a lot of fun. It reminded me of the fun that I had on GTA: Liberty City Stories where my friends used to parttake in some cool deathmatches in the GTAIII style Liberty City. Some say GTAIV was disappointing because of the lack of variety but really, I am glad there are no punishing flying missions or plain stupid dancing to break up the shooting and the driving. GTAIV concentrated on what I loved and not on what was there just for the sake of it. I loved it, it was great...
On another note, I am actually getting Dead Space and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe for Christmas simply because the other two games were sold out, go figure but there was still lots of Need for Speed Undercover and Call of Duty World at War copies... bleh. Have a great holiday to everyone out there and simply enjoy the break while you can! Happy I remember laughing during the game - says a lotRockets! Chases were nicely dealt with rather than being impossible to get rid of
Dead Space Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Saints Row 2 Prince of Persia
It's pretty bad not knowing what to want for Christmas I know but still and the selection is pretty small anyway. I have most of the late 2008 releases but I have purposely left out some early 2008 releases that I knew weren't worth full price like Turok and Dark Sector and a few others. Keep yourself safe and happy holidays guys!
Yes instead of finishing of or at least play more of the games that I have gotten recently, I have instead bought one of the more talked about games from last year, Halo 3.
If you know me well enough then you would know that I am not the biggest fan of the Halo series. I do still both have Halo: CE and 2 but I never really saw the game that everyone else was seeing when I was playing that game. When people call Halo the best game in the world, I really don't really see why and it they both have the same sorts of problems that plague lots of problems. My main complaint was both of those games was that the level design sucked the huge one and Master Chief was often stuck in repeating corridors and both of the games didn't live up to the beginning. I love the first third of Halo 1, after The Silent Cartographer, it just goes downhill and after the second level of Halo 2... no comment. So yeah Halo has always been lauded by many but I never saw the game as being the best game ever ever ever but my friend has been a fan of Halo's multiplayer and he made me think how good Halo 3 could be online. He agrees that the SP is mostly overrated and nothing special, hell he agrees that the whole game is damn overrated, I think most people would think the same. Here is a quote from the front cover on the UK version anyway. "Forget game of the year - this is the game of the decade." - The Sun which is a newspaper. That is simply the biggest load of shit I have ever read, ever. But the MP was fun and he had always gone back to it after a while so I thought, I will get it since I might as well. And you know what? I like it! What surprises me is that I am not that bad, not great but I always get a good level of kills and maybe get 2nd or 3rd place out of the players. I usually play Slayer and basically solo modes because the kill stealing that occurs in team games can be annoying but I also play Team SWAT because I love the more tactical nature and how the players don't have a shield and die in 1 or 2 bursts from the Battle Rifle. At the moment my overall EXP is like 45-50 which isn't too bad I guess, could be better. I also did get the Legendary Map Pack as I thought, it's only 400 Microsoft Points and it seems to be a good investment as those maps seem pretty good. I have played some of the single-player and the level design does actually seem better and I am not getting as frustrated as I used to.
So that is my small update and I will see you guys again later
P.S. Bungie, get rid of random checkpoints - they are the definition of shitty, half-assed game design - thanks Vod.
Hello there guys, I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and looking forward to the Christmas break around the corner. I have actually been doing exams recently but after I get them done, then I should be able to have full fun again. Despite doing exams, I have still been playing plenty of games both on the PC and Xbox 360.
The first game that I will talk about is a little game called Call of Duty: World at War and I bought the PC version because I actually preferred the PC version of the Beta when that was around but now I am starting to regret that decision. When I bought Call of Duty 4 last year for the PC, I loved it because it looked so amazing and it ran butter smooth on my PC but World at War has been poorly optimised and I can only hope that more patches come out to make the framerate a tad better. People may think I am bitching but performance over graphics anyday! Overall, I do like the game but it definitely isn't going to win any game of the year awards from me. I loved Call of Duty 4 and having a game just like that is up my street but I haven't been playing it recently because of that. The single-player while is decent, I do get a serious deja vu feeling when I am shooting away at Japanese soldiers. I have played through about 7 Call of Duty games now and all I can say is that they need to really overhaul the general design of, clear the enemies up ahead and move forward gameplay. It does help that the game does allow co-op play now up to 4 players which is a nice addition which was actually fully broken for the PC version as it was nearly impossible to get into matches and even if you did get into one, the lag was off the chart. That said, it seems that Treyarch have certainly improved their server support and lag doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. Another nice thing about the PC version only is that I don't have to play through the single-player campaign to unlock the co-op mode Nazi Zombies where you and a group of American soldiers are in a derelict building, fending off hoardes of the undead. It is a throughaway mode and it is clear that this was added in quickly to rival Left 4 Dead but still, it is nice that it is in there. The multiplayer is as good as you would expect. I did get up to about Level 40 at one point but I actually got a Blue Screen of Death and I lost my rank, so I am only about level 25 or something now, I will play more someday just not at the moment.
Another game that I have been playing is another game that is comparable to Call of Duty is Quantum of Solace. This game is actually rather surprising as most film games are dog shit but this game was actually quite fun and the multiplayer was fast-paced and the community seems pretty solid. The main complaint that I have against the game is that the game is pretty generic gameplay wise, it is just a mix of Call of Duty and Gears of War and while this works well, it isn't exactly the Bond experience that many people would want. It is a good game though overall and I am going to go back through the game on 007 difficulty for achievement points and I will also play more multiplayer for the same reason. The multiplayer has plenty of modes and some are unique like Bond Versus and Golden Gun but everyone just plays Team Deathmatch, go figure.
BoomAlso, I have been playing Left 4 Dead recently but probably not as much as I should have. I did get the PC version of course, I think it is blasphemy to buy a Valve game for the console really and I recall that the console versions of The Orange Box didn't get the huge updates and improvements the PC version received. Valve have probably learned some lessons from that experience but still, I would rather stick with the PC version since I am probably going to get those updates for free instead of paying 800 Microsoft Points or whatever. The game itself is pretty awesome, the action is fast paced and the weapons are nice and satisfying. It would have been nice if there were more weapons no doubt, having just the Uzi, Shotgun, Auto Shogun, M16, Sniper Rifle and the Pistol becomes repetitive and all I want is really more things that shoot bullets! But Left 4 Dead is a great game but I don't think it is very long lasting as the game is only under 4 hours long and the game isn't very replayable usually because killing zombies can get old after a while.
Yesterday I bought another Steam game called The Ship and I do remember playing this around two years ago when Steam announced a free weekend for the game and I actually really enjoyed the game but I never got around to buying it but I did because my friend started to play it and all of the good memories came back to me. The game is like a mix between Hitman and The Sims and it is a multiplayer game. The main mode is Hunt where you are giving a contact to eliminate but while you are trying to kill this person, someone else on The Ship is trying to kill you. It is gimmicky and a great idea and it's fun though it can be annoying here and there but its worth $20 I reckon. caption
And Gears of War 2 is great, they refined the shit out of it!
I wonder, should I trade in Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway towards Saints Row 2? Or should I keep it and just get Far Cry 2 next week... too many games not enough money...
Yep, you guessed it. I have been playing the Call of Duty: World at War Beta recently and overall, I like it. I like it a lot. To back up a bit, Call of Duty 4 was my favourite game of 2007. It took me by surprise and while I was a fan of the previous games, I didn't expect CoD4 to be that amazing. The single-player campaign might have been short but it was excellent and the multiplayer was superb. The new Beta for Call of Duty World at War doesn't give you a whole lot to do but it is a neat taster considering the game is about a month away from release. It also does a very good job of reeling you in and making sure that you are going to buy the game when it comes out in November.
Fake Boxart, no one has uploaded the real deal yet
So what do you exactly get in this Beta? Well you get three maps, Roundhouse, Makim and Castle. They are all pretty big compared to the maps in CoD4 with plenty of tight areas but some more open spaces too. Generally, Castle is my favourite just because it is a cool place to fight in but it is note worthy that Roundhouse is the only map that has vehicles. You get to play your favourite modes, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Mercenary Team Deathmatch (Utterly pointless) but there are some new modes, War and Capture the Flag. Capture the Flag was in older CoD games and is simply making a return while War is a mix between tug and war and Headquarters from previous games. You don't get to play all game modes but you get enough to keep you going. Of course perks and weapons are going to be important to this game. On terms of weapons, this is all standard WWII stuff that we have seen in countless other games. The Thompson, the Springfield, the MP40, the Gewehr 43 and such are all rather old hat but they are fun to use and are good weapons. However, the perks are a mix of old and new in CoD World at War. Most of the perks in the Beta will be familar to veterans such as Deep Impact, Juggernaut, Stopping Power and such while there are new ones featured such as Second Chance which is simply a new version of Last Stand where a person can revive you if you are on the ground and Toss Back which allows to player to throw a grenade without it blowing up in his hand. The perks work as well as ever here. There is currently only a Level 11 cap and I got there in my first sitting but still, this is a good taster to get your apetite wet and make you wanting more.
WooRight, enough of what is actuallyin the Beta and now my own impressions and really I don't have much to say. People are bitching and moaning about World War II like if it is the plague or something and I think that is bullshit because there are far more modern day shooters and most of them are pish. Once people get over the fact that this is basically like Call of Duty 4 but with WWII then I think that this is going to be a big hit at the end of the year. I am definitely going to get this around the time of release because this gameplay is just so fantastic. I think that people are dissing Treyarch quite a lot here because they are basically copying what Infinity Ward did before them but in all honesty, they are doing the right thing opposed to making their own shit (Call of Duty 3) I think that Call of Duty World at War should be a great game and for the record, I do not have any fucking beta codes or any information on where to get more beta codes! You wouldn't believe the amount of message that I got sent today asking "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" "HOW DID YOU GET THAT GAME?" "SEND ME THE CODE YOU USED" Oh god... well until next time, keep it easy.
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Matt BakerThis is going to be quick hopefully, I haven't been fully interested in blogging just because I have a lot of other stuff going on. Since last time, I have checked out both Duke Nukem 3D on the 360 and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway also on the 360. Simply put, they were both great. Duke Nukem holds up after 12 years and Brothers in Arms was just an awesome single-player experience. But only complaint with that game is that the multiplayer is completely fucking useless with one mode and no incentive to keep playing. Oh well, maybe next time... I recently bought Universe at War: Earth Assault on a lark just to build up my RTS brain with knowledge and whatnot. I don't plan on getting much this month, the big games don't come out until towards the end where Far Cry 2 and Fallout 3 and such come out. I will definitely get Far Cry 2 right away but I am not too sure about Fallout 3, I will wait until the general word gets out about that game (probably awesome anyway). I recently checked out the Fracture demo which was fun but its probably just a one-trick pony throwaway title that isn't worth looking into. I also just played the 007: Quantum of Solace demo on the PC and I have mixed feelings of it. The demo is only about 5 mins long so it doesn't give a good enough impression but the game itself seems pretty decent but the thing that brings it down at the moment is both the annoying 30FPS cap and the aiming sensitivity which is a bit fast but I got used to it. The best thing about Call of Duty 4 was the fact it was really easy to run with good settings and a high framerate but this game doesn't even take advantage of that... dumbasses, I hope it isn't like that in the final version, at least on the PC. Overall, that game might be decent though.
In the meantime, have a nice day and keep doing what you do. ;)
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Yet, I only bought one game and it was about £2.50. That game was Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without A Pulse and it is currently only $5 on Steam for the weekend. Pretty cool game, my Xbox copy still works but still, I just thought I would pick this one up while I could. The framerate isn't as good as you would expect, as I run Halo over 100 frames per second and this a lot of the time isn't even 60 but I'll live since this isn't really a game about shooting. I might talk about it more when I can.
Stubbs with Cig Lit!
Also, I took another trip down to the Belfast City Centre (or more commonly known as "Town") but as mentioned, no games. I instead bought a CD by the experimental band Mr. Bungle and it's the California album. Just while I am on the topic, I will talk a bit about pricing and piracy. For a start, I feel that CDs are way too expensive. Music is pirated so much for a reason, the shit isn't cheap! The CD costed me £13 which could have easily went towards a game or two. Most of the CDs are about that price it seems while CDs on sale are around £5 but they are usually shite CDs that no one should listen too. Before I buy a CD, I download it because there is no way that I would spend that much money for a CD that sucks. The only exception for me were both Faith No More's Angel Dust and The Real Thing albums but I already had their Greatest Hits before that so I already knew I was going to like it on some level. So yeah, I download the stuff and if I like it, then I buy it. It is playing it safe simply put, I am not a dumbass and others probably do the same. It is pretty common to have CDs like £15 or £16... its robbery. As for Mr. Bungle, I would expect most people to be unfamilar with them as they never really got big during the career from 1985-2000. They are most known for the fact the lead singer is Mike Patton who people know for being in Faith No More and some gamers know him for being the voice of The Darkness in... The Darkness. The music is strange, varied but always fantastic. I'll embed a video just to give you some sort of impression. While Mr. Bungle aren't my favourite band, they are probably the best. I also bought a cheap pizza so yeah... I probably shouldn't have spent that much but I was surprised with HMVs array of music in the "Metal" section these days, they are getting better though I hate seeing Metallica everywhere I go... just because they released a new album, I don't think of a want a poster of Master of Puppets :P
Well that is me, keep it easy. Here is a song called My Ass is on Fire with some footage playing live cerca 1992.
Hello there again, I don't know if anyone actually reads these because no one comments but I will continue anyway. Last week, I did finish of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and my final thoughts are simply don't get it at full price, it is far from worth it! I actually liked the game more than most people out there but the game ends terribly and the game is just as shallow as a kids' pool. I enjoyed the game a good bit during co-op but seriously, I wouldn't bother with Mercenaries 2, it's basic, boring and not worth it. I would only recommend this game if it goes for $20 or something like that. I have written a review for my magazine project in school so I might post that up here soon.
Duke Nukem In other news, I haven't got much else to say. I haven't been playing much at all, just playing Counter-Strike Source on occasion and I reinstalled Crysis last night to see if I can actually get through it before I play Crysis Warhead. While I am interested in Crysis Warhead, I am not getting it yet, just because money is usually an issue for me. While I haven't got anything since Mercenaries 2, there are some games coming out next week that I am almost certain that I am getting. First of all, Duke Nukem 3D finally got a release date for Xbox Live Arcade of September 24th so I can't wait to play that, that game is just some special. I just hope that it is 800 Points but it should be, Doom was 800 points and I think truly original XBLA games should be 1200 Points. The second game I am getting is Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. Not many of you seem to be too excited about this and I don't blame you as it is World War II and it looks kinda similar to the last two games but I think it should be fantastic. I will be trading in Mercenaries 2 at that time too because I know pretty much that I am not going to play it again. After reviews, my chances of getting Star Wars: The Force Unleashed at this point are insanely slim, it is probably a good game but I don't have the money to throw money at a game that I wasn't anticipating that much. I haven't got much else to say a part from I will be back next week to hopefully give you impressions of the new games, until then... see you soon. :)
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