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

Wet: These days I seem to think a lot about the things I forgot to do

Paying heed to predecessors such as the "you can't take yourself this serious" The Matrix in 1999 and 2001's Max Payne not to be confused with the Marky Mark version, Wet on Xbox 360 and PS3 by A2m is quite a replay on previous successful ideas. Focusing on slow motion 3rd person action with over the top violence, Wet is a great game for that quick one time fix.

You are an Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) style contract killer for hire that brandishes a sword alongside dual wielding firearms. The story is presented in a 60's B-movie approach using a melting reel, for example, when you die. Cutscenes have gritty scratchy overlays and levels are sometimes separated with old theater videos reminding you to visit the lobby for refreshments. It makes for a very stylistic presentation reminiscent to the cold, dark Max Payne's comic book scenes or snowy silent winter.

The story is so-so for an action game, expected plot points and outcomes are prevalent. The gameplay action is where the fun is found. The slow motion fighting is a blast to watch and play through as level design is based around it, but can get old very fast. Three buttons make up the slow motion action (run along walls, slide on the ground, or leap through the air) and after a few environment changes and pushing the 3 in different orders the game becomes a race to reach the end.

Your main weapons include what look like .44 magnum six shooters which can be emptied in a matter of 2 seconds and since reloading would break up the action Wet decides to kindly forget the theory behind reloading. Accompanying your revolvers is a Hatori Hanzo sword but sadly Sonny Chiba is not the presenter. The sword which is an amazing addition to this type of game is pretty limited in its usefulness unless you manage to find a locked door or can evade gunfire enough to get within 5 feet of your opposition.

Kills offer points used to unlock new moves or weapon improvements but are not necessary and only make the game slightly easier. Some of the action sequences have guess the button much like the Resident Evil series and most bosses are finished in this manner. Thankfully they are much easier than the RE ones that always seemed like they put you in the middle of a Press Your Luck show. At other times you are given a very bloody face which in turn enrages you enough to go into a red and white mode to start chain killing people giving additional bonuses for keeping the chain rolling.

The controls are easy to negotiate and the action flows well as the sounds of guns and explosions enhance the experience. The music selections are a perfect fit since all are fast tempo southwest style songs. Much of the music gives the feeling of wanting to brandish a ten gallon hat and empty whiskey bottles into your tummy which is only bad if you are playing this while driving. And yet it would still be safer than texting and driving.

A full clear of the game takes near 15 hours depending on the difficulty chosen and since it has a very repetitive nature, does not give the desire to be played over again. The love of the fighting in the Kill Bill movies, Max Payne or the Wachowski Brothers films is probably a good indicator that you will enjoy this game, just intend on setting aside a few days for a rental instead of bothering to dent the wallet buying the game.

Rating : 3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Summer Catchup: I can be the source you crave, I can spell what you can't say

To go along with the first "scheduled" summer vacation for me in over six years, I felt the need to catch up on reviews on things I've put off.  So here are some quick reviews of games and technology that are overdue.  

PogoPlug - No it's not a recharging station for your gyroscopically enhanced pogo-segway.  This small 

little piece of electronic plastic goodness is essentially remote desktop-ing made easy. Made by a company called Cloudengines, this device bridges the gap between your external hard drive and your router.  It then allows you to stream your hard drive onto whatever lovely computerish device, aka iPhoneS(nob), you happen to be using to annoy the hell out people eating their dinner at that fancy restaurant Olive Garden.  What used to be a limitation on OS matching between a computer and remote device has now been removed and replaced with a large 

backorder and a price tag of $99.  

Nokia E71x Smartphone -  And speaking of the vile world of confusing popularity contests 

with annoyances in public, one of the newest AT&T installment standards is the Nokia E71x Smartphone. Nokia really does know how to make quality phones and AT&T knows how to take them a step back.  

The design is slick, battery long lived, camera is so-so, standard software artful in its self destruction, but web browsing, WLAN, and GPS portions are above the rest as long as you stay under the 3G umbrella during reception rain.  Navigation of menus and number typing is a bit on the "special side" but once understood the phone does shine for those using it in the business sense.  As long as that business isn't human trafficking then you'll be happy if an E71x comes your way.

Tiger Woods 10 (Wii, EA) - It's in the game alright.  No, not shoving Tileset golf balls into any opening you can find around your TV.  The Wii Motion Plus will take care of that sort of thing for you if you haven't done it already.  

TW10 is a large showoff of what sports games should feel like when you are handed 

a controller.  Even if you aren't a fan of rolling out of bed onto your couch Sunday mornings for day long sessions to watch golf, playing this game will help you begin to enjoy the difficulty of getting a small white ball into a barely big enough hole about 300 yards away.  And then it will help you begin to whip Wii controllers into fragile objects around your room.  And then help you turn into a similar demonic hellion known as Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore.  

The game (with Wii Motion Plus) is so sensitive to very slight motions as you swing your controller that it will bring you to the point of wanting to keep your wrist in a splint to avoid draw shots.  The added features from previous years are a big bonus such as disc golf, real time weather, and precision putting.  And yes you can still deck yourself out in actual Caddyshack fashions as you progress through the Masters Tournament.  

Rating:  6.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

X3: Terran Conflict (PC, Egosoft) - X3: TC is the latest in the series.  It was released in September of 2008 and done so with barely a glimmer of advertising along side of it.  

Some games take their genre so far above and beyond, that expectations of what the game actually is or could be vanish, and you are left with something a bit odd and hard to describe.  It is much like comparing Microsoft's Flight Simulator versus Ace Combat.  They both have planes and they both involve flying but crashing and burning in one takes a little more work than the other.

X3: TC is a simulation game in the biggest sense of simulation.  Combat is there but is not a large highlight unlike Wing Commander, Descent: Freespace, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Freelancer, etc.  The storyline is there but is overshadowed by the rest of the game.  

So what exactly are you left with?  A gigantic universe to explore and trade within.  A place to commandeer for your galactic space stations and armada of ships.  It's much like Pogs or Magic: The Gathering.  At first it's really interesting to look at and play but after a short time passes only a select few people of the world will still be able to find enjoyment out of it.

Extremely high learning curve, not so easy controls, and a hard difficulty make X3: TC an even harder selection to pick.  Open source coding for modification, beautiful graphics, and a reason to dust off the old joystick make X3: TC a good alternative for those looking to branch way way off.

Rating:  2 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (360, Ubisoft)-  A sequel to the 2006 release, this first person shooter is one of the very few western FPS games available.  A run of the mill FPS with a very different setting for those that are used to killing Nazis or Aliens, CoJ: BiB will probably only appeal to those that really enjoy the setting the western setting. 

The game and it's appeal can be compared to something similar to the movie Jacques Cousteau and Life Aquatic.  Unless you were a large fan to the original works, the semi-recent film will seem more like an awkward broadway play that stays a mystery. 

So unless your parents made you sit and watch every Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Henry Fonda western of the 60s and 70s, you probably won't even have the slightest bit of interest in CoJ: BiB since most gamers are too young to know where the term spaghetti western even came from in the first place.  And if you did happen to watch them, there's still a decent chance you'll probably just bide your time and skip over this game waiting for HALO: ODST.  

CoJ: BiB is a pretty average FPS and doesn't have enough meat behind it to make a good meal.  Boss fights are done in the old western showdown at noon style, the action is fast paced, multiplayer competitive but not as good as CoD4, and the storyline and voiceovers are great but short overall.  The gameplay is a copycat to the Call of Duty series with waypoints, respawning, and storyline progression.

But again, the fast paced action and multiplayer are the only things linking FPS gamers of today to the western setting of yesterday.  If you're into a good appetizer and salad while you wait for dinner this fall, CoJ: BiB could be for you otherwise just order a bigger meal later.  

Rating:  3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360, Infinity Ward/Activision) - 

One game that I had initially put off buying was CoD4. The Call of Duty predecessors were always very short with the single player game and could typically be completed in 15 hours or less.  The single player was always extremely fun to play but brought no multiplayer strength with it limiting reasons to pay $50+.  

Another annoyance was the other CoD games were all set in the WWII realm and after playing so many WWII games now, I can almost rattle off every gun and caliber of bullet used during that era without ever actually firing any of them.  An overdone period of time in the history of the world when it comes to FPS and strategy games, I set aside the CoD series altogether until very recently.  

Modern Warfare was well worth the revisit to the CoD series.  Reviews of the game all over the internet have told the story many times over and all say the same thing.  The game is great from start to finish in all aspects that make up an FPS game.  Graphics, sound, storyline, gameplay including both single and multiplay, etc, are all top notch.  

One part that really sets this game apart is the way the character modeling design is done along with the background and camera.  The model design from what I've read is separate from the way previous CoD games did them.  In modeling speak they have faked certain aspects to give it a three dimensional look and at the same time gives a ton of extra detail while keeping the game running at 60 frames per second.  

The look of the characters and background is amazing and is shown off even more when a gun is pulled up to the shoulder and the camera puts only what's directly down the sights into focus fuzzing out the surrounding area.  It's an exaggeration of what the eye really does but it's the good kind like the size of Babe the Blue Ox or the hope you feel for the Cubs to make the playoffs.  

The best part about the game is how the multiplayer is done.  The multiplay is on the same level that Halo 1 was when it was first released with different play modes and maps.  As you play you begin to work your way through levels of experience gaining the use of new weapons and abilities.  Unlocking new items becomes as addicting as playing the slots after a few too many mojitos.  This idea has now become a standard for multiplayer games and will be copied for years to come.  

Overall the game is well worth the small price that comes with a game of the year release so be sure to pick it up and grab an xboxlive gold package too.  Just be sure to get ready to mute those arrogant mic users again.

Rating:  9 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream

Rupture: Do you miss me, Miss Misery like you say you do?

A long time ago I played various MMOs such as Ultima Online, Everquest, FFXI, etc.  With hours upon hours of time spent interacting with people and building odd gaming relationships, some of which were people that were not only good at the game we were playing but also very nice and fun people to play with, I had a very hard time moving from one MMO to another.  

On one hand you spend a boatload of time investing in levels, equipment, etc.  You also spend a lot of time with building and keeping relationships.  To up and leave a game completely means you not only loose all the digital stuff you've acquired, you also loose those digitally made friendships.

Rupture is a new great way to keep and search for those relationships you might of once had.  Rupture is in all essence a social networking site much like myspace, facebook.  What is nice and different about it is the fact that it interlaces many different online gaming communities such as Xbox-live, WoW, EA online, etc spanning different exclusive companies that wanted to do the same thing but were limited by only reaching within their own grasps.  

Rupture pulls achievements and constantly tracks progression of your MMO characters, new achievements and the ability to challenge people to new created achievements open to everyone or closed between friends.  What's nice is the associated and usually very different gamertag/character names all get pooled into your one Rupture name.  All of your old gamertag/character names can be searched for and sorted depending on the game as long as you input them.  Only know a guy by a single character in WoW?  Search for that name and as long as he's put it up, it will be found and you can see that he also plays HALO 3 a ton under the xbox-live gamertag Killerorkilla.  

The best part is, it's all free.  Eventually I believe that Rupture will try to pull cash from advertisements but for now it's completely clear of the clicking garbage and already set for use in its beta phase.  

I'm not sure what new annoyances will come out of this new site except for being a larger target across multiple games but hopefully the annoyances are all minimized and kept from spawning new scams.

So if you're out there and you want to track down your old pals, sign up on Rupture today.      

Elliott Smith - Miss Misery

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.  

Star Ocean: The Last Hope: I could spend the rest of my days playing through what might have been in love

Star Ocean: The Last Hope from Square-Enix and developed by the small company Tri-Ace is the 5th (and possibly last) installment in the Star Ocean series only out for Xbox360.  A nice reminder of RPGs of the past, SO: TLH is a good example of a stereotypical Japanese RPG especially if you don't normally play RPGs.  A rich and cutscene-a-plenty storyline, just enough repetitive fighting to level your opposables to a thumb wrestling championship, and item management that would go better with an day shift manager, TLH is good RPG for new and old gamers alike.

Made by the same company that brought us Infinite Undiscovery, TLH is a much better step toward what fans of RPGs expect to get from a single game.  And for those that never owned a Super Famicom, PS1, or PS2 to be able to play the other Star Ocean games, TLH is very much a standalone since it is a prequel taking place a few centuries prior to the first Star Ocean.  The story does tie into the other Star Ocean games and helps explain the somewhat surprise ending for Till the End of Time but anyone new to the Star Ocean series can still find themselves not needing to research anything from the older games.

For those unfamiliar with previous Star Ocean games the core background to the games follow with an Earth that was scorched from nuclear war.  The survivors put all of their efforts into space exploration trying to find a new planet to call home.   You are a part of the first exploration party and the actual game portion is the adventures you encounter while out in the "star ocean".  

Star Ocean was one of the first RPGs to change from menu driven turn based combat system to a real-time type.  Encounters, whether randomly popping from out of nowhere or actually touching an enemy on a map/dungeon, were still done with the classic cut-away screens unlike Castlevania, Zelda, or Secret of Mana that kept combat and wandering in real-time.  On top of it, the combat for SO was all party based.  Besides unique combat, other factors such as the large crafting system made this series a building block for later days with the later advent of MMOs.  Take that Doom!

The biggest selling point for all RPG video games is the storyline and the meshing of the player actually feeling like they are "role-playing".  An entire book's worth of dialog can be crammed into an  RPG making a way to bridge the gap of tedious page flipping in some old dusty book that weighs a ton and smells like mothballs.  If the storyline has substance then working through all the battles over and over just to go up a single level makes it all worth it or ends up taking away 80+ hours of your life you'll never get back (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Battletoads thank you).  TLH has a novel's worth of dialog and contained within 3 DVD discs are a plethora of cutscenes to fill out the story nicely.  On top of the usual read-along just as much voice acted dialog is done in case you hated reading everything and wanted to forget what books were altogether.  

Combat is better than the older SO games and doesn't evolve into impossibility like some of the previous SOs.  Previous SOs were so difficult, especially toward the endgame, that trying to figure out a trickeration type strategy to just finish the game was a usual implementation for disheartened gamers.  I remember playing SO2 and seeing a strategy in which a single party member was utilized and only one ability was used (ah, AIRSLASH) and not even bothering with other party members or any other abilities.  The strategy worked so well that the whole game could be completed this way.  This time all party members pull their weight with or without your direct input and do a decent job with self preservation even on harder boss fights and endgame.  Not as much saving, dying, reloading, and repeating till your head spins, thankfully.

Repetitiveness isn't as big a factor since combat is a challenge and rewarding when mastered.  Enemy difficulty keeps pace when sticking with the storyline instead of having to take extra time to "level".  There are some nice additions such as combos that can be done with fellow party members and in addition, they can even be micromanaged and changed to fit your damage needs. 

The overall look of combat is a big step up from previous SOs and is very fluid in it's delivery.  And it's not only the combat that shows off the graphics as the rest of the game grinds on your 360's hardware constantly.  Cutscenes aren't above the visual quality of the rest of the game showing that the entire game can not only look fantastic but help to give the feeling that a lot of work was done making the gameplay look spectacular.  The cutscenes don't act like separate movies inserted here and there but instead are like a part of the gameplay and story keeping the player enthralled with everything and not making the gameplay a disappointing experience when the player is given control again.

This SO had very few low points that stuck out.  With all RPGs, the way in which directions on what to do and where to go next is a big part of the presentation.  TLH utilizes a lot of the cutscenes to do this but in a few cases trying to figure out the next step for progression isn't the easiest thing for your cereal box decoder ring.  There are also handfuls of awkward and head scratching "situations" that only anime fandom would ever consider a necessity. These can be seen with some of the characters like the personal crafting utilization program: Welch.  One big teeth grinder comes from the monotone character Lymle as the creators decided to add in a South Park type tagline to the end of EVERY sentence she decides to speak ('kay).  After about 20 minutes of being forced to hear the joke being taken too far, the cuteness gets loaded into a weapon of scary proportions as you begin to look into the barrel instead of looking down the sights.  

Small hiccups aside, from start to finish Star Ocean: The Last Hope is an experience that fans of all of the classics will enjoy, worth the play through for any RPGer, and a good choice for those that have never ventured into needing experience points.  Hours upon hours of cutscenes, gameplay that's enjoyable, minimized repetitive leveling, atypical combat that's fun, and a good return on the investment for time given, SO: TLH is by far an RPG Xbox 360 owners have been looking for ever since the console's release.  

Rating: 7.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10, 5+ being a must play}

O + S - We Do What We Want To [only actual video available is Permanent Scar]

Resident Evil 5: Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go, Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop

"Now lets all just stay calm and hopefully we can take care of this 'Zombie' problem in a civilized manner"

Who knew a pregnant woman who barely plays video games with a hardcore gamer would both squirm with anticipation of getting through a normal work day to be rewarded with a zombie-blasting-fun-shotgun-reloading-handholding-good-old-time? For all your marriage needs Resident Evil 5 for PS3 and Xbox360 from Capcom is there fulfilling all that marital bliss people talked about you having after exchanging vows about sickness and genetic altering viruses and boy, was everyone right on about it all being worth it.

Without saying all the same stuff again about the love of zombie in all of its forms (Previous Review of RE5 Demo) I'm going to just stick to my reaction of RE5 after finishing the game with my diamond in the rough on a par 4.

A quick synopsis for this game will remind you of any RE typical virus problem creating zombies that must be dealt with.  After zombie after zombie are destroyed you take arms up against the person in charge of distributing the virus.  This RE takes place in a fictional African country as this makes for a great 'test' site for the newly created virus without the fear of a military superpower intervening.  Instead, you and your partner are a part of a small group that investigates biological terrorism around the world and is assigned to this lovely country after rumors start of people making meals of other people.

RE5 is everything I'd hoped for with a little extra gravy on the side.  It makes for a very hard decision when comparing to its predecessor, RE4, on which is better. The shock value on what a huge step forward RE4 was made for a high bar to live up to but with the addition of the Co-op mode, the beauty of this generation of consoles, and sticking with all that worked previously, RE5 has at least matched RE4 in greatness.  

The solo play is quality as the AI of your uncontrolled partner has the aim of a true champ and avoids death fairly well.  Your AI companion however, does not understand what it means to conserve ammo and will blow through just about every bullet you hand them.  For anyone who's played any of the RE games, you know that ammo is scarce and is one of the things that will make or break your survival as zombies attempt to chomp on your pooper and neck alike.  In some instances your AI buddy will be such a good shot that it almost feels like cheating.  This makes the game a bit easier than I prefer but others may appreciate all the help they can get.  

The Co-op mode is one of the best 2 person Co-ops I have ever seen. The overall game is so fun that even someone that is typically not enthralled with gaming can start to play RE5 and notice smiles appearing on their face.  After completing the game with my wife I realized that this game's development was actually centered around the idea of you playing with someone and making the experience of two people better than just one.  Many of the fights in the game are meant for you to coordinate times to reload, when to take shots, exchanging of equipment, and covering one another from all directions which is best done with a real partner and not a skynetty one.  The controls are easy enough for anyone to pick up and quickly learn as they are identical to RE4's 3rd person over the shoulder shooting controls.   

Hopping right into playing with a partner isn't the fastest thing to do as RE will save all of your progress no matter who's game you are joining and no matter where they are in the story.  What is nice about this is all the extra unlockables that are bought with a how-smooth-was-success based point system is saved to your account and not just the person's story you are playing.  

The cutscenes and storyline are solid and mesh very well to make the experience a complete one.  There is still some of the extra unnecessary unusualness that RE/Capcom likes to have such as extreme physical attributes (punching through a person) and over the top characters.  Even with this strangeness, the voice acting is done very well and the music and sounds of the game also make for a seamless movie played out as a game or game played out as a movie depending on your half full/hall empty outlook.  Different pistols sound like their real counterpart and the ooga-booga zombie sounds still have the same old scariness that comes from when you know damn well it's in the shadows somewhere.

Completing the game just like RE4 unlocks some extra modes of play but not as many as RE4.  RE4 had a very difficult extra storyline that could be played after the game was completed and RE5 is missing something like that.  I'm going to guess that since the new trend of games now is to have to purchase extra expansions, they will probably release something like this at a later date.  

Lots of head disintegrating action, smooth transitioning cutscenes, fun gameplay, and an opportunity to make a real life partnership even stronger make Resident Evil 5 a game everyone should take the time to find a partner to play it with.  Yeah, it being RE5, I think...   

Rating: 9.0 {on a scale of -10 to 10, 5 being a must play}

Fela Kuti and the Afrika 70 - Zombie (video is only 10 min of the full 12+ min song)

Halo Wars Demo: It was cold and it rained so I felt like an actor and I thought of more and I wanted to get back there

Due out Feb. 20th by Ensemble Studios, aka Microsoft, Halo Wars is another RTS, this time only out for the 360 console (and no they refuse for some reason to release it to the PC for now at least). After sitting down to test out what a few others have been looking forward to playing, this demo helped me back to the path of another memory that I had stored by means of the dewey decimal system when I should of had it on speed dial. That time-tested and true memory is the problem with listening to people that are in love with a franchise. Those star crossed lovers tend to magnetize themselves into hearting things and hopefully an ice pack slaps them in the face to show them what their attraction will bring, good or bad, before it's too late. Works for sex appeal, that new car smell in a pontiac aztek, and in this case a video game.

So it's a little harsh to say those things first, but everyone needs a good old fashioned open palm thwack to get their head aligned before jumping around for joy with that newly purchased bag of magic beans. Halo Wars does some stuff well considering that Ensemble has fallen into the same old "console RTS" bear trap. To beat the old drum of RTS knowledge, the best RTS games require close to, if not an entire keyboard for all the quick functions needed to play well. Tom Clancy's Endwar bypassed this idea by adding in voice commands but Halo Wars is all done entirely with the controller. This causes a removal of the nice complexities that an RTS can carry and you are left with a simplified version of what could of been something challenging.

On the flip side the game is very easy to figure out and play. Almost any fan of the HALO games can pick this up and learn it in under 30 minutes. That also includes the stereotype that most HALO fans barely know what the restrictions on their learners permit are. Graphically it is a quality game especially for an RTS on a console. The graphics match the other HALO games as does the music and sound effects. Units are very similar to their predecessor games with new units necessary for the balance found in RTSs. All of these things will make any HALO fan giggle with glee. Gameplay and strategies are easily figured out as units have a basic strong vs/weak vs setup along with the ability to upgrade units. One main difference from most other RTS games is no resource gathering is required and instead a building at your bases can be created that houses a constant stream of incoming supplies at a given rate. Pushing the limits of a console on the graphical limitations, I found that having a large army of units all involved in battle at the same time did not show the typical graphical lag PC RTS games sometimes suffer from.

The biggest thing that one will notice after starting to play this game is hopefully a glimmer of a reminder stored in the long term attic of the brain. Admittedly if you live in Korea, this might actually be a short term memory, but for most of the world it now lands in the dusty old cardboard box sections. To truly understand you also have to look a bit into the future as well and connect the old with the new. There has been an empty space created with the distance between the release of Starcraft 1 and the eventual release of its sequel. This has made most RTS fans turn to other choices such as Total War, the AOE series, Warhammer 40k, Company of Heroes, etc. These other games are all agruably great if not better RTSers with their similarities and differences to the beast of a benchmark called Starcraft.

And herein, after about five minutes of playtime, is where a couple solid flashbacks should and will take place. Halo Wars is, well, pretty direct in its choices for game style. You have the 'humans' (terrans) vs 'covenant' (protoss) and are missing the 'vs the flood' (zerg) as far as anyone knows for now (unless in the single player campaign you band together to take down the flood and I think I've heard that storyline a couple times before). Ideally, if you worked for a game company, you would want to make an attempt at separating yourself from Starcraft even though it is a highly sought after franchise and small aspects and similarities will naturally be stolen. This game, on the other hand, did not feel like any many attempts were made at separation besides utilizing the HALO universe. It almost seems that those over at Emsemble loved playing Starcraft so much they decided to fill this soul searching time without Starcraft 2 by deploying their "HALO modded edition of Starcraft ".

The looks of some of the units and their abilities were too similar for me to think of anything other than the Starcraft series. Flamethrower marines, now where have I seen that before especially considering I don't remember that at all in HALO? Some of the upgrades for the units even seemed a little too similar for my tastes. Granted both games are supposed to be set in a distant future sci-fi universe, but Warhammer 40k didn't remind me of Starcraft as much as this game does. Maybe it's just me and my wild urge for Starcraft 2. I guess the strong comparison to the Blizzard game is because I did not see anything within the demo that seemed like a new idea or creative piece of gameplay or anything else to really set this game apart. I honestly feel that this game will not even stand the test of time and will be forgotten about after about a year of its release unless the need for another reference presents itself.

Regardless, a line in the sand will have to be drawn whether you can pick up this game and ignore similarities to Starcraft. This could be done for those who are big into FPSers and want to branch off into a known game universe. Maybe someone who does not want a game to be so complex that you are bogged down with a ton of commands and options? Or maybe if you are too young to have ever picked up Starcraft? Maybe being a big fan of the HALO universe would help block out the scars of an old bad Battlenet rank?

The next line in the sand would have to be whether you can actually stand, like most other failures before it, playing a RTS on a console. I found it very annoying trying to do unit selections since most of the success of minor and major battles is based on micromanagement of units playing off their strengths. I also found that due to the difficulties of managing specific units, and the limitations of what you can actually do with just a controller in your hands, this game becomes a game of choosing what units to create and upgrade more than how to use the units that you have created.

As you can see, Halo Wars may teach you that what you may be strongly attracted to at first, may eventually lead you into an internal struggle to torment yourself by attempting to look like you are not tormented.

One other thing to note is that the release of Warhammer 40k Dawn of War II is due out on 2/19 for the PC only and Halo Wars is due out 3/3 for the console only. If I was really itching for a RTS right this minute I would probably go with the former since both will be the same price. If I was looking to try out RTS games for the first time I would go with the latter. And if I was really wanting to not get my panties in a bunch for needing a RTS so quickly, I would probably hold off for the release of Starcraft 2 sometime this year, probably near the November time frame. By then it will be like Blizzard saying revenge is a dish best served with laughter and giggles. Or if you want another RTS that's not a sci-fi oriented one, Empire Total War is due out on 3/3.

Five Years - David Bowie

F.E.A.R. 2 and Ace Combat 6 demos: and outside you see the waves in her eyes and I won't blind what you decide to swear by

It's been a long time since there was a battle of the Midway. About 66 years now, but the concept has always been about good old dog fights and not the illegal kind with pitbulls or rottweilers that you used to referee for to get you through a bad economic time. I'm talking about the kind that today is fought with volleyball, hot perspiration, and steamy showers. And without a multi-million or billion dollar piece of equipment to pull it off with in the back yard, you'll need to probably find a supplementing game. How about Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation from Bandai: Namco?

If you are looking for an American-esque flight sim/dogfight game this game will probably give you a few confused looks on your face when you play it. The storyline is Japanese in its writing, translating, and action cinematics which can put some people off. Looking past that you'll find a very fun 3d "vertical scrolling" shooter, you know, the kind that you used to spend all the quarters in your piggy bank after school just to play.

Simple controls to pick up and lots of air combat, Ace Combat 6 is a good console game to try out if you have a yearning for a Tie Fighter replacement.

Separately, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin by Monolith Productions and published by WBIE is another game that will keep you popping truckers caffeine pills as you fend off visions of Ringu to not succumb to sleep.

The first installment was a decent game in what it was trying to do for the FPS genre. It had it's scary moments for sure, but overall it felt like more of a Half-life mod that didn't mesh its horror moments and seemed to ostracize any quality FPSing. The FPS wasn't anything spectacular as it pushed the primary focus to the horror portion.

F.E.A.R. 2, however, has a different look, feel, and amazing presentation to it. The available demo off xboxlive is worth a try and just reading a review can not prepare you for how well this game has improved over its predecessor. I can't figure out if it's due to Vivendi letting its little brother WB Interactive Entertainment take a little more control or if its just all the money made from the success of the first, but either way you should treat this as a whole new game.

The demo starts you off after a helicopter crash as you try to regroup with your fellow squad members. You find yourself very close to a school and soon you begin to see how well the horror portion has really become seemless with FPS portions of the game as you start to fill up your nightmare fuel tank. Objects like desks and lockers are randomly pulled in various directions by a strong force, a little girl crying can be heard as all other sound is silenced suddenly, and bodies are found dismembered and mutilated in what looks to be pretty horrific ways all while the old flashing light, dark, and shadow routine is used.

The FPS area is much better as a typical copycatted aiming system and HUD are used and aiming is very tight for a console FPS. The storyline is delivered within the HUD's radio/camera and by reaching key points along your travels. The first person perspective is a bit bouncy at times and can probably leave people nauseated just by running around. Graphically F.E.A.R. 2 has reached the level of this generation of games and leaves only the amount of content as the last burning issue when it is released in February. Remember though, like most other stylistic story heavy FPSers, you'll probably only want to play this through once so a rental may be the best course to take and not a full blown purchase. Save your cash for RE5...

Resident Evil 5 Demo: you should follow me down. there's no color and no sound in a black and white town

Capcom has come a long way from their original survival horror zombie thriller Resident Evil. Taking place in a fictional midwestern place called Raccoon City, members of STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Service) were sent in to investigate murders involving cannibalism that had occurred there. After searching for lost Bravo team members shortly after the investigation started, Alpha team finds themselves surviving for their lives within what was first thought to be an abandoned mansion. From there Capcom had a franchise on their hands stemming sequels, movies, books, other types of games such as Umbrella Chronicles (played much like the House of the Dead style light-gun shooters) and also inspiring many other similar series such as Silent Hill. To truly pay tribute to all these zombie games, a proper ten second silence must be given to the NES great Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

In 2005 the last major release in the series, RE4, was by far one of the best games available for the gamecube console. RE4 had one of the best control styles fully utilizing the fisher price controller with a now copycatted 3rd person, over the shoulder, laser-sighted aiming system. The game also brought back the black cat crossing your path paranoia and piddle in your pants fear that made the original a classic. The storyline flowed very well with actual gameplay and had additional challenges after the game was completed. To this day I still reflect on the many days spent playing RE4 after a few too many cold ones at 3am while listening to Brian Eno records and wondering how I wasn't placed in a mental institution for how scared I was of Las Plagas and moving silhouettes. Thankfully things like the Wiggles can help save anyone's sanity.

Capcom's next installment, Resident Evil 5, is due out early in March 2009. A demo of this game is available on Xboxlive (Gold members initially) after some many impressive trailers tickled our fancies for the last few months.

The first thing that this demo shows off, besides RE4 flashbacks of zombies dying face down in the muck, is that they have not steered away from what works.  Great controls, beautiful graphics, and lots and lots of zombie head popping action.  2 levels are included (1 more than the previous japanese demo) both of which allow for the opportunity to try out the newest addition to the game: a 2nd player.  Even if you don't have a friend to play with in co-op mode(over xboxlive if not split screen), the game controls an additional player that you have to share guns, ammo, and herbs to survive together.  You both look out for one another and like all other great male/female duos of all time such as lucy and ricky, fred and ginger, sonny and cher, ace and gary, etc, you have to lean on one another to be successful.  

After playing through the 2 levels many times, I realized, after the emptiness of finishing Fallout 3, I had something to look forward to once again.  Hopefully you will say the same thing and maybe even want to fight along side of me as a scantily clad chesty female.  Kind of like the tactical support of Fiona from my new favorite show with the voice of Sam?

NPPL 2009: lit only by the glow from hope you buried deep, to see what it would grow

Ok so it's a picture of PSP and not the NPPL...

D   Y   N   A   S   T    Why?  Because you love the game of paintball so much that's why.  Brought to us by Activision, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 is the first paintball game in over three years since the release of Greg Hasting's game for the earlier console generation of xbox and playstation.  Well, OK, there really weren't any before that either.  And that's the focus for this review.

So most people that play FPS games really focus on the controls, AI, and hopefully minimal repetitiveness.  Trying to imagine those that would play this game is a simple task to do.  They are the ones that spend much of their good weather days dodging little balls, praying that none land in sensitive areas that already house a couple.  Everyone else has enough common sense to stay off the fields of war and within the safety of distance, will also distance themselves from this game.  I myself have spent dollar after dollar on cases of paint and FPSs alike, and even I have trouble turning a blind eye to the factors that will keep most from experiencing this game at all.

Comparing to the only other major paintball game, NPPL 2009 is an improvement graphically.  There is a better array of ingame equipment to choose from because of additional sponsorships obtained versus Greg Hastings Paintball.  The feel of tournament play is somewhat similar to what actual paintball feels like.  But sadly this is where all the positives begin to dissipate.  It is a paintball game and if paintball is something you enjoy then there's somewhat of a chance this recreation will be enjoyable.  This is not by any means a typical FPS for those expecting it to help a newbie begin to embrace the sport.  A person who has never set foot on a paintball field will really zone in on the aspects that make this a video game and not the pieces that help mimic the sport and in doing so can really jab you in the eyes.

The problems start to occur with a lot of repetitiveness.  There are a lot of loading screens and some do not seem like they would be even necessary.  Handfuls of them occur after only about thirty seconds of gameplay and you tend to find yourself sitting on an imaginary bench with nothing to think about.  The music is the expected soundtrack of paintball especially if you have ever watched any Derder type films about the sport.  The issue with the music is menu screens tend to play the same song every time you reach them between rounds, new tournaments, equipment screens, etc.  

Controls are somewhat good (2 right buttons acting like a double-finger trigger) but the default stick for aiming is the right one which is a lot of precision aiming matched on the same hand as the speedy busy fingers.  The bunker leaning is not as good as what it was in Greg Hastings as you can not hold a full lean and strafe without breaking a lean causing a lot of jerky movements.  Diving or sliding into bunkers can be somewhat tricky and prone position snake play is unbearable.    

The AI and tournament play may be a little more on par with what real tournaments feel like but the speed of some rounds is so fast that off the break, more than half of the opposing side or yours will can be eliminated and barely any paint down open lanes is found.  Greg Hastings did an excellent job of utilizing lane shooters while mixing other teammates for hopping from bunker to bunker on the field.  NPPL 2009 has all players aggressively moving the entire time barely letting you get to a bunker to use one full hopper of paint.  This is where loading screens become a constant greeter as you are slapped in the face with them even between multiple rounds against the same team on the same field (for example best 2/3 rounds).  

Overall, NPPL 2009 is a great and wonderful reminder of one of the greatest games that people can go out and experience.  Trying to describe the adrenaline rush of diving behind a bunker with the sound of paint coming inches from your noggin probably can never be recreated with just a video game so go balls out, get a facefull of paint, and save your money before you decide to even think about picking up this game.  

Rating: 2.5 {-10 to 10 scale, 5+ being a must play}