Battlefield: Bad Company 2 + Alien vs. Predator Multiplayer Demos: Opinions were like kittens; I was giving them away.

After a quick couple of downloads and plenty of the internets to research the pieces, Alien versus Predator and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 are just on the horizon for upcoming possible purchases.  So without further delay here’s a quick review of the multiplay demos for AvP and BBC2 (not to be confused with your friends over the pond).

There’s some expectations when making a sequel and BBC2 took time to listen to fans of the first making changes while including more of what worked in the first.  Comparisons to MW2 make for easier understanding so brace yourself.  From EA and DICE, BBC2 isn’t a carbon copy of FPSers.  There are some things that set it apart and each aspect holds some weight much like Michael Moore. 

Past Battlefield games were known for their multiplayer experience and I can easily see how this release will be another.  First, the map sizes are exceptionally big and designed a little bit differently than most other FPSers.  The graphics don’t skimp but are not the best out there.  They do however work well with the map sizes and large player caps even if it’s no where near MAG’s 256 number.  The designs are meant for the game types they are played on, namely conquer the territories.  Since the battles are aimed to be progressive, the maps therefore feel like a battlefield and not a random scattering of people running across the same ground in all directions. 

Vehicles are abound and a vital portion to what works well with the Battlefield series.  Controlling them is also easier than BC1 and makes for less issues of poor drivers or bugginess unlike Orkin commercials.  A copycat MW system for self progression is used allowing you to choose from 4 main classes and customizing each as experience points are gained.  I guess this is the new standard for all FPS multiplayer games now to keep people coming back for more; just be sure that if you are coming back for more you put in some more time on that treadmill too. 

The biggest piece of this digital pie is the destruction system used.  What that means is buildings, the environment, vehicles, and just about everything else are destructible by the side effects of warfare.  It is beautifully done and makes for an enjoyable ride while romping through the countrysides.  It is unlike any other FPSer around so take soak it in while it’s around.  The destruction system and vehicles separate BC2 from MW2 because the pacing and feel of each appeal to different playstyles which can exist simultaneously in a person but it may take that special kind of person to find a big place in that person’s heart for both MW2 and BC2.  That special someone with a big wallet. 

I am going to guess that the single player is quite similar to the first installment which was pretty much the Blue Collar Comedy tour meets Ernest joins the military: fart jokes galore.  This leads to a story that a bit difficult to stomach more than once and is probably completed quite quickly, but these are just guesses using past experiences with EA.  Does it all add up to a game worth purchasing now?  If you are very into multiplay, then I could imagine an easy purchase.  If you are going to bank on a worthy single player game too I’d save my cash for something a little darker?…

   

Working the opposite darker corner of the street of BBC is the retro release with an updated look: Aliens vs Predator.  Straight back an entire decade since AvP first knocked on your door, wet from the rain in 1999, you had an opportunity to accept AvP into your house to warm itself by the fire.   Requiring a PC at the time and two decades after the release of its original movie, AvP was quite unique in its single player game allowing you to choose a marine, alien or our blessed roommate predator.  Besides a minor flaw of a missing save feature in the single player game, AvP was a great release putting you in the shoes of a scared marine with the one and only motion sensor noise noise that can still stir up a nightmare or two when you hear it.     

Even after a decade has passed, I can still remember the original AvP and how difficult it was to transition easily between the 3 characters and their controls.  And this is the first difficulty in the latest release of AvP.  Porting to consoles as well as PC, jamming all the possible controls onto a controller is a bit difficult as well as being the person trying to remember them all.  More importantly is that the multiplayer portion has no pizzaz or more specifically any reason at all to want to play the multiplayer portion.  After sitting through a difficult system of joining a multiplayer game, most of the action requires a person to run around madly until an opposing player is found in which you attempt to close the distance or increase it depending on what character you have chosen.  The running gives the feel of the ice skating smoothness instead of actual running, but this is a difficulty with many multiplayer games.  Beyond that attacking seems a bit awkward and team play is just a random consequence of choosing the same race as others. 

What is hopeful is that the single player, updated and revamped, should still make for an enjoyable game.  The concept is pretty simple, emulate the movies as much as possible and let the fear ensue.  Where previous fear based games such as Doom, Resident Evil, or F.E.A.R. need you to get entranced with the game itself before the fear can result, AvP only requires you to have watched the movies alone at 3 am with the spooky sounds of a furnace to watch them with you.  The fear then comes naturally rushing back and welcomes you with bead projects, puppy dog eyes, and internet sites devoted to itself.  I can not reason with a full price tag to go along with a re-release game as well as a lacking multiplayer portion so bide some time and wait for Steam to chop the $$$$$$’s down but keep this release in your back pocket for a rainy day later this year.

 

Modest Mouse – Out of Gas

E3:09 Highlights

Here are some of the not so French tickles that I caught while spending a little too much time staring at Olivia Munn and the rest of the G4 gang.  

EA - Besides the typical sports games of yore here's a look at what I hope is not just Star Wars Galaxies 2.  Yes, a new MMO set in the Scifi universe that all Scifi fans know:  Star Wars the Old Republic.  Since it is made by the creators of KOTOR, the big push for this game is the storyline and questlines touting consequences for every choice made.  Also a reminder that Mass Effect 2 is on the way and what looks like all the unenjoyable portions have been removed.

Ubisoft - By first starting off on the right foot having Joel McHale initially introduce the Ubi conference, CEO Yves Guillemot spent just a handful of time on information for all of the Tom Clancy hits, Assassin's Creed 2, Red Steel 2, etc.  Instead almost all of the talk was over their new direction which is taking a vested interest in all aspects of entertainment beyond gaming.  Their first large branch-off is a 3-D game/movie combo called Avatar.  The 4 year running production is directed by James Cameron and was a project he originally had created over a decade ago but the technology was not up to his vision. Thankfully this was not a forced project made during the Deep Blue Sea era of CGI.  And for the first time in a while I will probably buy another Splinter Cell game.

Sony - Big PSP push for them with all sorts of ports and similar versions of big hits.  New Metal Gear Solid game for PS3 (exclusive one for Xbox360 too), some more Final Fantasy videos but overall the only half thrill I got was watching some God of War 3 gameplay.  It looked smooth, brutal, and visually amazing.  

Nintendo - One big surprise was a new 4 person co-op 2D Mario Bros. game for the Wii.  It plays out much like the gamecube/DS game Zelda 4 Swords.   Interesting but this again is another example of a Wii game needing more than just yourself to please you and others.  The one surprise was a short video of the next upcoming Metroid game due out in 2010.  This shows a bit more of the old 3rd person viewpoint that fans enjoy.

Microsoft - Modern Warfare 2 as well as Mass Effect 2 were a few of the 360 delights.  Both were large improvements over their originals and hopefully will both be released before I make out a Christmas wish list.  The one big showoff Microsoft accomplished which was above and beyond any other of the console press conferences was Project Natal.  Natal is an additional little device that resembles a web cam and microphone combined.  It doesn't seem like it would be that interesting until it is understood that it is a gaming device requiring no controller but your body.  Some amazing features of Natal are voice AND facial recognition, video conferencing, dashboard browsing controlled by your body motions, etc.  Here is an example of what looks like a game of sorts called Milo which is a little interactive AI program.