Bulletstorm Demo Impressions

Tuesday is easily the crappiest day of my week. I am at my university for 14 hours leaving very little time for movies, video games, or blogging. Even worse since most games are released on Tuesdays.

However, I was able to download the demo to the game Bulletstorm which ranked 12th on my list of my most anticipated games of the year. It's being made by Epic Games, the developer behind the Unreal franchise and the Gears of War franchise, meaning its got some expectations to fulfill. How did it fare, especially when the first-person shooter genre is so crowded?

What do you get when you turn the awesomeness of MadWorld for the Wii into a First-Person Shooter? Well you probably don't know because I bet none of you even played MadWorld. And you call yourselves gamers. X-( I kid of course. MadWorld was a game where you built up points based on stylish your kills were. Kill an enemy a certain way you get points. Do it a different way you might get more points.

That's essentially Bulletstorm in a nutshell only as a First-Person Shooter rather than a 3D Beat-Em-Up. Just plain killing them will get you the minimal amount of points whereas shooting them in the head, or getting up close and booting them and then shooting them in midair, or ass-shots (seriously), get you many more points.

Now it's not exactly like MadWorld. In MadWorld the points were necessary for your advancement. You a certain amount of points to unlock bosses and advance through the stages. This game's design works like your standard FPS, move from Point A to Point B and kill things (albeit stylishly). The points will be used to purchase new weapons or upgrades for the weapons. Think Call of Duty multiplayer in singleplayer. And while I didn't see it take effect in this one due to only one campaign stage, no extra weapons, or upgrades, the point system is in place and I anticipate the upgrades for the retail release.

From little story I can see, they are not taking it seriously whatsoever and that's not a bad thing. This is not Mass Effect or Uncharted. Just look at the title. If you expect a deep story from this, you are a terrible judge of titles. Sometimes not taking yourself seriously can work in your favor as it allows logic to be almost completely thrown out the window which can make for an awesome experience. Check out Bayonetta if you don't believe me.

As a nerd who likes to look at every avenue of the games he plays, Epic Games delighted me by putting in two of my most respected voices in the gaming industry. First up is Steve Blum who plays the main character, Grayson Hunt. Coincidentally Steve Blum also voiced the main character in MadWorld as well as numerous other games. Seriously, he's nearly 400 CREDITS on his IMDB page. Second is Jennifer Hale, who voices Female Commander Shepard (the DEFINITIVE Commander Shepard) in Mass Effect and Bastila in Knights of the Old Republic, and has also been in MGS, Metroid Prime etc. Again her list of credits is LONG. I have a lot of respect for those two and it was a nice bonus to hear their voices.

Overall, I was pleased. Bulletstorm was fast-paced, felt unique, was over-the-top (from what could tell), and has a great developer behind it. The demo is currently available on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network and its a great way to spend a badass hour.

Top 10 Games of 2010

Hey guys, I originally posted this list on ScrewAttack.com but I decided to bring it over here as well. If any of you have not played these games, find them and do it.

2010 had a lot of AMAZING games. Some disappointments too, *cough* Other M *cough*. But the quality of some of these games and the way they delivered on their expectations or exceeded them more than made up for the ones that didn't.

So I'll be giving my list of the 10 best games of 2010. These are the 10 games that most delivered on their promises and made being a gamer this year, an enjoyable experience.

This was not an easy list to make as there were many games that I did not want to leave out of here but the 10 that I put on here was just simply the best that 2010 had to offer.

#10: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed II was one of my Top 3 games of 2009. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood wasn't quite as good as that but it was still really damn good. It gave me exactly what I wanted in an Assassin's Creed game keeping all of the strengths that made ACII such an incredible achievement.

It's got a great story (though unambitious compared to the other two), keeps the mission variety that helped make ACII such an enormous improvement over the original, and exploring 16th century Rome was simply breathtaking. New gameplay elements such as being able to recruit fellow assassins and the surprisingly addicting multiplayer made this a really enjoyable experience.

In the middle the pacing slows down a little for a few sequences and it feels less like a full sequel and more of an expansion of ACII but this is a great expansion and well worth the price of admission making Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood the perfect game for my #10 spot.

#9. Vanquish

Take Gears of War, add jet-propulsion, bullet-time and turn the speed dial up to eleven and you've got Vanquish one of over-the-top awesome games I've played in a long time. Created by Shinji Mikami, the creator of the incredibly influential Resident Evil franchise, Vanquish never lets up.

What it lacks in compelling storytelling and interesting character development, Vanquish makes than makes up for with its stellar gameplay. The controls are nearly perfect and the adrenaline-filled rush that you get when using the jet-propulsion to speed your way at either cover or an enemy, or using the suit's bullet-time mechanic to pop off a quick headshot is blissful. The game's difficulty was manageable but had a good curve that increased based on what your skill should be.

The game may have been pretty short and didn't have incredible replay value but the gameplay is so damn good and the scenarios so memorable that I know every now and then I can pop this back in for a badass day with Sam Gideon.

Platinum Games had an outstanding year this year...but I'll get into that a little more later on in the list.

#8. Donkey Kong Country Returns

Retro Studios is an amazing developer and I have statistics to back that statement up. They have made four games, and all four of them have been outstanding. They made all three of the incredible Metroid Prime games and now this.

I honestly can't think of any other game this year that better captured the feeling of an absolute classic, not even the reboot of NBA Jam. Donkey Kong Country Returns gave me a feeling of incredible nostalgia, and I didn't even play the SNES games until about two years ago. I can just imagine the feeling it gave people who played it when it was released in 1994.

The controls are sharp, and the scenarios that Retro came up with for the platforming kept the game fresh, interesting and unpredictable. The game has a great difficulty curve which starts out easily accessible but ramps up the difficulty in just the right way as the game goes on.

Retro designed this game with such care and affection for its SNES predecessors that its just fantastic. It truly shows why they are such great developers for Nintendo.

#7. Limbo

First, before anyone asks, no I haven't played Super Meat Boy yet. It's one that I really want to play and that I plan on playing before my winter break ends. As for right now though, Limbo is the best downloadable title I've played this year.

As an independent game, Limbo's excellent quality is found in its simplicity. Simple gameplay, simple story, deceptively simple puzzles, and simple art style. Less is more after all and I can't think of any other game this year that uses that phrase as well as Limbo does.

Other than the analog stick, you'll only using two buttons like in the NES days and the story is hinted at without any cutscenes or dialogue. The puzzles are definitely challenging but when you figure them out, you'll be left wondering, "How the hell did I not think of that before?" and you'll be doing that with a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

But one of the more striking things about the game is its simple art style. Utilizing a silhouette look for everything that looks like a light was shined into the camera, mixed with the fog gives a very creepy atmosphere to this unpredictable game.

The $15 price tag might be a little high for a game as short as this but the enjoyability that comes from playing it makes it fun for repeat playthroughs. As said before, less is truly more in this case.

#6. God of War III

Like every other game in the series, God of War III starts with a bang to set the tone for the rest of the game. It's a great start and does exactly what it was supposed to do just like the rest of the game does. As the conclusion of the trilogy on the main home consoles God of War III delivers everything that I wanted it to.

The hardware of the PS3 allowed God of War III to have a scale that we've never seen on a console game before. This mixed with the game's outstanding easy-to-pick-up-and-play gameplay made it one of the most awe-inspiring and epic games of the year.

The boss battles are all excellent though, whether it be the one at the very beginning of the game or the one with a Hades who sounds an awful lot like The Kurgan and Mr. Krabs, are all universally well-executed.

This mixed with a compelling story, great voice acting, an outstanding soundtrack which truly makes you feel like kicking ass, incredible visuals and art direction, and providing a great end to outstanding series (at least for the home console games), made this one a keeper and perfect game for my #6 spot.

#5. StarCraft II

After being in development for over 10 years, the sequel to one of the most important and popular strategy games of all time was finally released and it was awesome.

The single-player campaign offered a fun storyline with it's excellent tactical gameplay and different side-objectives for every mission made it fun to replay them. It was easily accessible on the lower difficulties while still offering a feeling of using tactics to win while the higher difficulties are perfect for StarCraft vets.

Of course, it's the online multiplayer that helped make the original StarCraft such a legendary entry into the genre and it's still really damn good with and incredible amount of custom games mixing an RTS with many other different kind of genres. This will definitely be played for a VERY long time to come and its tactical balance means that the better player will nearly always win.

There aren't too many changes to the formula of StarCraft but there are enough that it doesn't just feel like a rehash of the original. 10 years of development means a lot of hype behind a game and StarCraft II both delivered and showed why Blizzard is one of the best developers around.

#4. Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Revolver was a somewhat decent game that failed to live up to what it could have been. Red Dead Redemption on the other hand is one of the best free-roam games in history. It's essentially Grand Theft Auto IV in the old West but is that really a bad thing? No it is not.

Basically if you've played Grand Theft Auto IV you'll know what to expect, except that it's in a new setting and era. The game perfectly captures the feeling of the old west and the setting that we've all seen in the great film genre. It does this with its great art direction, excellent musical score, and incredible storyline.

With the exception of Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption tells probably the best story I've seen in video games this year. This is aided by probably the best new character of the year with John Marston who's got a dark past that he just wants to leave behind but can't do it. He's an incredibly likeable and sympathetic protagonist who you will be rooting for the entire game, even in his morally questionable actions, given his entirely understandable motivations and because Rob Wiethoff delivers one of the best performances of the year. That and the ending is best game ending this year.

Rockstar made this game thinking that it was not going to be a success. That takes balls and is one reason I respect Rockstar games. They wanted to make an excellent title and delivered in almost every way imaginable. The multiplayer might be a little dull but the single-player experience more than makes up for it.

Add in a great DLC expansion with the Undead Nightmare pack and this is a game that you will be playing for a long time. For perfectly capturing the feel of the west with its outstanding storyline and atmosphere, Red Dead Redemption has truly earned its spot on my list.

#3. Bayonetta

As I said when talking about Vanquish, Platinum Games had an outstanding year this year and in America this was one of the first three games released this year giving a great opening. Made by Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the groundbreaking Devil May Cry, I really didn't like the look of this game, but then I played it and loved every second.

I'm going to make some bold statements that some people might not like. First, Bayonetta is the best 3D hack-n-slash I have ever played. Sometimes it helps not to take yourself seriously as then there's no limit to how imaginative you can get. What we get because of that is one of the most awesome and in-depth combat systems ever created. Second I think this game has the best boss battles of the generation. It may lack the scale of God of War III but the imagination and insanity involved just made them my personal favorites.

The story is absolutely bat-shit insane and it's really hard to follow sometimes. But I still enjoyed it because the character Bayonetta was surprisingly interesting, well-developed, and likable even with her occasional sociopathic tendencies. The music may sound out of place at first but for me it eventually just clicked into place and the art style fits with the rest of the game's insanity.

The game is difficult but hits a nice balance in its difficulty that I don't think any other major game of its genre has quite hit. It's definitely very challenging but it doesn't punish you right off the bat like the Devil May Cry games and Ninja Gaiden games do. It does a great job of raising the difficulty based on what your skills should be at a certain point of the game. Practice makes perfect and that's definitely Bayonetta's philosophy.

Coming from someone who did not expect to like this game at all, what this game accomplished in my mind, is truly remarkable. I haven't even gone over the many references that it makes to every kind of action game imaginable, but Bayonetta is the best its genre has ever seen. If you enjoy this genre, let logic go and you will have an incredibly badass time.

#2. Super Mario Galaxy 2

You can always expect high quality with Mario games and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is no exception. More than just an expansion pack of the original Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 adds many new gameplay features that were missing from the original making a true sequel and one that in my mind surpasses its predecessor.

Yoshi has entered the realm of space (which can clearly be seen on the box art above) and adds a new realm of scenarios that the original did not have and new power-ups also come into play. The game keeps the basic controls of the original however proving that if something isn't broken, don't fix it.

The campaign is quite possibly the largest in the franchise's history. It will take a long time to pick up every possible star but the feeling of satisfaction is well worth the effort. Part of the reason for this is that while Super Mario Galaxy was criticized for being to easy, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a much more challenging game. Maybe not The Lost Levels compared to the original Super Mario Brothers in increased difficulty but it's definitely there and makes the game even more rewarding than last time.

In the end this is a sequel that does exactly what a sequel should do. Keep the same basic elements of gameplay that worked, fix the things that didn't and continue adding new elements to make the game feel fresh and unique and not like a rehash. In that way, it's a nearly perfect follow-up and one of the best games of the generation.

#1. Mass Effect 2

 

Okay, anyone who knows my gaming tastes probably s BioWare is one of the greatest video game developers ever and they delivered everything that I wanted with Mass Effect 2, improving almost every problem with the already excellent original Mass Effect.

As is usual with BioWare the storytelling is superb, with amazing writing that rivals some of best films the year, an incredibly well-constructed universe that they continued to expand on from the original, and what is a contender for the best cast of characters in video game history.

The voice acting might be the best I've ever heard in video games with only a select competing with it. Jennifer Hale is incredible as Female Shepard and shows why she's one of the most respected voices in the business, Martin Sheen did just amazing of a job as we expect an actor of his caliber to do. And everyone else from Yvonne Strahovski, Seth Green, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tricia Helfer, all the way to lesser knowns like Liz Sroka, Brandon Keener and many others are nearly flawless.

The game really makes you feel like your choices will matter in the long run with the incredible save-file transfer system that brings choices in from the first Mass Effect you can feel the impact, as small as they may seem, that your choices have on the galaxy. The gameplay brings down the traditional role-playing elements to the basics for a very well executed third-person shooter mechanic mixed with biotics (think force powers) and engineering abilities.

The soundtrack is one of my all time favorite video game soundtracks always fitting with the situation that is currently onscreen and all of the character themes perfectly define the character without any dialogue whatsoever.

Mixed with some outstanding DLC including the amazing Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC which really feels important to the overall storyline, and the ways the story can change based on your choices in this game AND the first Mass Effect, everything adds up to making Mass Effect 2 not only the best game this year but my favorite game of the generation. And I can't WAIT for Mass Effect 3. Bring on the Reapers BioWare.



Super Meat Boy was not here because I had not played it when I made this list. It's on Xbox Live and it's well worth the price, buy it.

LA Noire Story Trailer: Atmosphere Fits the Title

Well, I talked about how LA Noire's release date was accidentally revealed via a leaked trailer that Rockstar pulled immediately. Well they recently officially released the trailer and officially confirmed the game's release date for May 17th.

The story looks like your typical film noir storyline, and it appears that it will have all the cliches that we've come to expect. But that's not a bad thing. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if the writing is strong, even cliches can't hold a story back. Look at Mass Effect for example. Every sci-fi cliche possible but it's so well-written that you don't even care.

Not to mention that LA Noire is being made as a tribute to film noir hence the name. And from what I see in this trailer and the trailers that preceded it, it appears that it may succeed at doing just that. As said, before LA Noire hits stores on May 17th, and I can't wait to try it out. Will we have another masterpiece from Rockstar? We'll see.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Rumors

There are rumors going around that the three Metal Gear Solid games before Metal Gear Solid 4 but after the original 8-bit Metal Gear games will be showing up on an HD Collection. There's not much to go on with this, so I'm just going to nerd out over the three games that are being talked about.

The Metal Gear franchises is one of the greatest and most groundbreaking franchises in video games (ridiculously long cutscenes aside). It pioneered stealth gaming with Metal Gear's release on the MSX Japanese home computer in 1986. But the ones that are being talked about are the ones on the PS1 and PS2.

Pure, unadulterated awesomenes

Metal Gear Solid has already had a remake in the Gamecube game Twin Snakes. However, I wasn't incredibly satisfied with it and I would love to see a great HD remake of the game. It's often considered the crowning achievement of the original PlayStation and one of the greatest games in history. It had a great story (even with a major research failure on genetics), the best voice acting of the time, and some of the greatest boss fights in history.


The fight against Psycho Mantis where you have to plug your controller into the second socket is legendary. The fight against the Hind-D, Sniper Wolf, Metal Gear REX itself, and Liquid Snake on the top of Metal Gear REX. Despite being a stealth game based on patience, it's an adrenaline rush.

Despite what the cover shows, Snake isn't the main character

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty is a very polarizing game in terms of its story. It's gameplay was revolutionary and was one of the games that helped put the PS2 into the dominant position that it would hold for the rest of the generation. But a change in playable characters, the cutscenes that continued to grow longer, the overly-complex and hard-to-follow story, turned a few people off.


To be fair, the story makes MUCH more sense after playing the later games in the series, particularly Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. And like the first game, the boss fights were freaking awesome.

The Masterpiece

Ah, and here's the one that I'm really going to nerd out with. As amazing as all the other games are, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is the masterpiece of the series in my mind. If this HD Collection is a rumor, I HIGHLY recommend picking this one up.

While it still has a complex story, it focuses more on its characters and simplifies it enough to make a story that's easy to follow and easy to enjoy. It takes all the great gameplay elements from Metal Gear Solid 2 and improves on everything else. It serves as an affectionate parody of the spy-movie genre like James Bond films while serving as a very compelling backstory for Big Boss, Snake's father and villain from the first two 8-bit Metal Gear games. Yet despite its humor, it's also the most depressing game in the series.

I can't think of any other game that made me shed more tears than Metal Gear Solid 3. Yeah there are games that do that to me and I'm fine with admitting it. If you get to the end of this game and don't choke up a bit, shame on you.

Don't worry big guy. We're all crying with you too.

Like in all the other games, the boss fights were AMAZING! One is a sniper duel that can potentially last 1-2 hours. One is against a guy who fires flame everywhere. But it's the final boss fight that sticks out in my mind as being both awesome and quite possibly the most emotionally powerful boss fight in video game history.

The biggest badass in the series (yeah that awesome) and the most emotional boss fight ever.

If this HD Collection does come out, I highly recommend that you pick it up if you can (as long as they're faithful to their originals). These three games are all outstanding, even Metal Gear Solid 2 with its flaws. If it doesn't come out and it's just a rumor. I highly recommend checking these all out, especially Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

I may have wasted your time with this but I love this series so much. I'll post more news about the rumor as it comes along.

Dead Space 2 Lullaby Trailer

Okay this trailer is a few months old but it's a great trailer for Dead Space 2. I probably should have put this one up for the game on my Top 15 Most Anticipated list.

I will be picking up Dead Space 2 on Wednesday at the earliest and Saturday at the latest. Depending on how long it takes me to beat the game, you can expect my review of it within a week or two. I'll also put up a blog going over exactly how I review games and why I do it that way since reviews can be controversial.

Highly anticipating this game's release on Tuesday. I'll keep you informed of my thoughts on it.

More Release Dates

Well, on Friday I posted about how Duke Nukem Forever finally has a release date after 14 years in development hell. But two other games also got release dates for the moment. Both of these games were in my blog of the Top 15 Most Anticipated of 2011 so I'm excited about these releases.

First up, we've got the reboot of Mortal Kombat which is set to be released on April 19th.

I've watched a few of the other trailers released since I wrote up my Top 15 list and the game looks good. It looks fast-paced, simple, fun, and very importantly for this reboot, it looks bloody as hell. If the reboot is successful, Mortal Kombat will find a place again among the elite fighting games out there, especially with the boom in popularity that the genre has been taking.

If I had to pick one fighting game to purchase this year, it would still be Marvel vs. Capcom 3 but I'm still highly anticipating the release of this reboot.

Next up, we've got Rockstar's LA Noire and it will be almost a perfect year after their 2010 masterpiece Red Dead Redemption. Literally, it's 364 days. Red Dead Redemption was released on May 18, 2010 in North America and LA Noire will be released on May 17th.

As I said in my Top 15 list, LA Noire is seeking to mix the open-world and 3rd-Person Shooter gameplay of the GTA series and Red Dead Redemption with the subtleties that you expect in a detective film, focusing on working interrogations and clues to solve murders in 1947 Los Angeles. The look of the city kind of reminds me of the Mafia series and The Godfather games. I like it and I'm interested to see how the gameplay holds up.

The trailer that gave away the release date, was actually a leaked trailer and Rockstar pulled it before I could get a look at it. So unfortunately I couldn't put the trailer itself up. When it becomes available again, I'll post it.

A few big releases in April and May. We've Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat in April, and Duke Nukem Forever and LA Noire in May. Might have to make sacrifices as to which to buy and which to pass up for financial and time purposes, but some great options to choose from.

Duke Nukem Forever Trailer

This morning I posted about how Duke Nukem Forever finally had a release date and I also complained about how there still wasn't a trailer.

Well I made mistake and it's time to make up for that mistake by posting this trailer and gushing over it.

Duke is truly back. The same crude yet utterly awesome humor and unique style of Duke Nukem 3D is all there and my god, is it glorious. I am psyched at the chance to jump into this and I might fire up Duke Nukem 3D again sometime soon. After all, nobody takes our chicks...and lives.

So I apologize for not spotting the trailer earlier. But I'm making up for it now. Yes Duke, I did think you were gone forever. I am so happy that you're not.

Duke Nukem Forever has Release Date

The game that became the laughing stock and running joke for development hell, finally has a release date set after 14 years of waiting. Duke Nukem Forever will FINALLY be released on May 3rd, 2011 in the United States. It will then be released everywhere else on May 6th.

This game made the #14 spot on my 15 Most Anticipated Games for a reason. Gearbox shocked everyone at PAX 2010 by revealing that not only was the game ready for release but also had a playable demo. At the time they gave this news, not only did everyone think that it was far from being ready, we all thought it was dead after 3D Realms essentially dropped development.

It's so great to see that this game finally has a release date. I'm not the biggest FPS fan but I still love a good FPS and I can't wait to see what Gearbox did with the game. Now it's time to release some trailers for those who weren't at PAX and those who probably won't get a chance at the beta. Come on Gearbox, you've got less 5 months to do so.

Now in celebration, here's a YouTube video of all of his quotes from Duke Nukem 3D.

HAIL TO THE KING BABY! Now if we could just get Half-Life 2: Episode 3 out.

Activision Continues to be a Dickish Company

Activison has a sadly ironic story now. This company was formed in 1979 by angry employees of Atari who were fed up with the poor treatment they got from their employers and the poor treatment that was given to customers and they became the first 3rd-party developer/publisher in the industry. They made classics such as Pitfall, Grand Prix, KaBoom, River Raid, Seaquest, and many others.

However over the past few years, under notorious dickface Bobby Kotick, they have become exactly what they were originally formed to combat. That trend has just continued with two recent developments.

First is the attempt to shut down Bizarre Creations. Due to not finding a buyer for the company they have made plans to close its doors putting many people out of work. Okay, I understand that in business things don't always go well. Sometimes company doors do need to be shut.

The problem however, is with how they were treated BEFORE this. Bizarre was notable for its racing primarily the Project Gotham series and the recent Blur. So what did Activision do? They dumped James Bond 007: Blood Stone on them, expecting them to work in a genre that they had absolutely no experience, despite the fact that there plenty of other companies that DO have experience with that kind of genre under there arms.

What this resulted in was a very average third-person shooter, which Activision refused to market because it was not a Call of Duty title or a Guitar Hero title. Again, I get it. They want to push their two big franchises out there, because they are the big money makers, and that's totally understandable. But they are doing it at the total expense of developers with many workers under it. I know many people have talked about this but honestly I'm sick of it.

But that's not the worst. The second story has to do with how they treated their customers through...CUSTOMER SERVICE! SERVICE is the key word.

When one person called in complaining about the servers on Call of Duty: Black Ops on the PS3, he was told by the customer service agent that due to the number of complaints Activision received from PS3 owners, they were considering a "viable" option. Find the problem and fix it? Work with the customers to find a nice a solution? No, disconnecting the PS3 servers completely.

This is unacceptable Activision. There are many companies, developer and/or publisher that I could call into and expect great customer service given their past association with fans. Normally I'd pass this guy off as a jerk and a one time incident, but seeing how you guys have been conducting business over the past few years, I'm not going to do that.

As I said, making money is fine, and sometimes difficult decisions need to be made and people are bound to lose their jobs. It happens. But you guys should be doing everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen. When you give a genre to developer with no experience in said genre and then refuse to market the game, it shows that you don't give a flying shit what happens to your developer and employees. When you treat the customers like this and refuse to help them figure out the problem and fix it, it shows that you don't give a flying shit about the customer: in other words YOUR LIFE BLOOD!

Get yourself together Activision or it's going to bite you in the ass someday, the exact same way it bit Atari in the ass in 1982-83.

Alien Prequel is Now Original Product

Ridley Scott's upcoming prequel for his horror masterpiece Alien is no longer a prequel, but has become its own film titled Prometheus. It will apparently star actress Noomi Rapace who recently starred in the critically acclaimed film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

While I was actually curious to see how Ridley Scott would pull off a prequel to one of the greatest horror films in history, I actually kind of like the thought that it veered into its own new product. I just hope that it doesn't feel like a rehash of the original but with just a different name.

Really there are some prequels that just don't need to be made. Did Hannibal Rising need to be made? Does The Thing prequel really need to be made? In my mind, it did not and it does not.

Not much news about Prometheus has been revealed yet beyond the fact that it was meant to be an Alien prequel that became its own and a potential lead actress, so I'm holding any judgments as to what this film's potential is until further news.

Alien Prequel is Neither an Alien Movie Nor a Prequel

Alien Prequel Now Original Movie

Top 15 Most Anticipated Games of 2011 Part 2

Well, I was planning on putting all of these on a single post but the length was getting ridiculous so I decided to split it up into two parts. And now here's part 2 of the games that I'm most excited for.

#7. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is one of the greatest games of this console generation, with some of the most awesome set-pieces ever put into a video game. I really have no idea how they are possibly going to follow it up but that's one of the reasons I have such high anticipation for this game.

The Uncharted games are known for their combination of Gears of War shooting with Tomb Raider platforming and puzzles. They are also known for having compelling and storylines that make you care about what's going to happen and keep you going. Nathan Drake has been one of the most likable characters in recent years and I'm very interested in seeing how he develops in this game.

If Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception lives up to the incredible standard set by the second game in the series, we can expect a well-written narrative, excellent gameplay and action scenarios, colorful visuals that push the incredible limits of the PS3, outstanding voice acting and just an all-around enjoyable experience. The multiplayer from UC2, was also great and if they can improve on that and the single-player, count me in.

#6. LA Noire

After making the greatness that was Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar Games is returning to the grim and gritty urban area as seen in the GTA series, but with a twist in LA Noire. Rather than playing a criminal, players will take the role of a detective who needs to solve a series of murders.

The game will therefore rely on methodical detective work rather than non-stop action which is a concept that has been tried before but hasn't really worked very well (see the AVGN's review of the NES Dick Tracy). Rockstar Games has enough reputation behind them that I feel they can pull it off and I trust them and the developer Team Bondi to deliver a memorable and unique experience. The game will focus on subtleties which the player will have to find such as how a suspect reacts during interrogation.

I really like the look of 1947 Los Angeles from the trailer and the screenshots so far. It really feels like a great callback to the old noir and detective films from decades ago. Rockstar just recently tackled the Old West so I'm very anxious to see how they handle this.

#5. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It's been five years since we've had a Zelda game released on a console. Yeah we've had some games on handhelds but no console game since Twilight Princess in 2006. Well the new one, Skyward Sword will finally be released to serve as a prequel (as if the series timeline wasn't F'ed up enough already).

Twilight Princess was a great showcase as to the potential the Wii had for games involving swordplay and for launch game that was great. But Nintendo is now attempting to make the Wiimote fully connected with the in-game sword, as opposed to moving the Wiimote in a certain way to pull off a special move.

The is will create a much more strategic use of the sword. Think of it in the way Zelda II on the NES changed it up from the first Zelda. I don't know if that's fully accurate but it's going to be a change-up. Given the credibility behind this series, we can expect something great, excellent gameplay and level design, colorful environments and great music. It's one to watch for.

 

#4. The Last Guardian

After being in development for five years, hopefully this is the year The Last Guardian will finally be released on the PS3. So why is this on the list? Well first of all, it's being developed by Team ICO the developers behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, which are both among the best games on the PS2 and of last gen. Shadow of the Colossus in particular stands in my mind as one of the great artistic achievements of the medium.

Second, there's so much mystery behind what the game is about and what the gameplay will entail. We know it's probably going to look visually outstanding and be unique but beyond a few sparse trailers, we know barely anything.

The ICO Collection, containing both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus updated in HD for the PS3 will also be released later this year and will be a great appetizer if the game finally hits shelves this year. But I'm still impatiently waiting for any more news about what the game will be about and I can't wait.

#3. Batman: Arkham City

In 2009, Batman: Arkham Asylum shocked everyone, even those who thought it was going to be good, by being so awesome and well crafted that it actually won Game of the Year awards from some major publications. It was well-designed, had a great story, excellent voice acting, and was a blast to play from beginning to end.

Rocksteady Studios, the developer behind Arkham Asylum, have said that the first was their idea of a tech-demo to see if they could really make a great Batman game. They succeeded and now they intend to do everything that they've wanted to do since the beginning. Rather than a small island (if spacious), we'll have an entire section of Gotham City to explore and beat the crap out of criminals in.

There will be more Batman villains, more devices (and we keep all the tools from last game), deeper combat and gameplay, and the story will be even darker which is saying quite a bit when you consider how dark Arkham Asylum was. Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin will all reprise their roles including many other voice actors to come in as the many villains in the game.

We haven't seen any gameplay so far, but if it is anywhere near as well done as Arkham Asylum we've got another thing to look forward to this year.

#2. Portal 2

2007's Portal was a remarkably original and fun game that had only one striking flaw. Now the follow-up to Valve's masterpiece promises to rectify that and expand on the ingenious mechanics and puzzles found in the first game.

Portal 2 will be around 4x as long as the first Portal. It will contain new environmental set-ups such as vents, blue repulsion gel, and orange propulsion gel. From the previews that I've seen it will have the same great tongue-in-cheek humor that the first game did, and from those previews alone, I've seen some outstanding looking level design.

Finally, Portal 2 will now have co-op multiplayer and I am very curious to see what kind of puzzle opportunities this will open up to friends. One could say about Portal what Rocksteady Studios said about Arkham Asylum: It was a demo. Valve, now it's time to see what this game is really capable of. GLaDOS, it's time to make your return.

#1. Mass Effect 3

BioWare's Mass Effect series is currently in the process of telling one of the greatest science-fiction stories ever written. Sure, it's a story that we've seen many times before, but the way that it's told, the strength of the writing, and the power that it gives the player over the outcomes is what sets it apart.

Mass Effect 2 was my 2010 Game of the Year, improving on its predecessor in almost every way imaginable. Better combat, better dialogue, expanded universe, better characters etc. And it all comes down to this. We've been waiting for the Reaper invasion and their attempted genocide on organic races for two games and it's almost here. Every choice made in the first two games will culminate in this one and this why I'm so excited about it, even in this year of big releases.

How will the war against the Reapers end and how will Shepard stop them? Depending on my choices will s/he survive? What will be the outcome to the different romance subplots throughout the series both genders? What is Martin Sheen planning now? How will the different, brilliant characters arcs conclude? So many questions I want answered and the promise of at least one more "bridging" DLC for Mass Effect 2 hasn't quelled my excitement.

Being a BioWare game, we can expect an excellent conclusion to an outstanding story, amazing character development, some of the best voice acting in gaming (seriously Jennifer Hale, Martin Sheen, Yvonne Strahovski, etc. were freaking amazing last year), and an incredible scale. There's no question that Mass Effect 3 is my game to buy in 2011.

And those are the 2011 games that I'm most excited about. I will continue to regularly update this blog with news reactions and thoughts on both films and games and their respective industries. It's a big year for both and I can't wait.

Top 15 Most Anticipated Games of 2011 Part 1

Hello everyone to my first blogpost on this site as opposed to ScrewAttack.com. I still intend to post stuff on there but I want to try out a new format and have plans to start up my own site soon. So anyway, let's get down to one of the two things I know best: Video Games.

2010 had some awesome stuff. Just look at my list here to see them. Anyway 2011 is promising to be a great year for both sequels, new IPs, relaunches and series conclusions (which, could be placed under sequels). So many in fact, that I had to break my usual tradition of a Top 10 list to form a Top 15 list of the games that have got me so excited for this year. So let's begin.

#15. Dead Space 2

In 2008, Visceral Games' Dead Space hit the scene and was called this generation's Resident Evil and Silent Hill...in space. The struck a near perfect atmosphere with its enormous ship, USG Ishimura, and with its total lack of a HUD which was an interesting and well-executed concept.

Dead Space also had a cliffhanger ending and left quite a few questions unanswered. Dead Space 2 is coming in on January 25th to fill gaps that the supplementary material and Wii rail-shooter didn't fill.

Yes, we will be back in Isaac Clarke's shoes, this team in a city on Saturn's moon, Titan. And he's going to talk this time. Rather than seeing the aftermath of the necromorphs' killing spree, we will see the beginning of it. Actually that sounds like the path that a certain other survival horror series took on the original Playstation. I'm not going to complain as I'm curious to see where they go from here.

New creatures will be introduced and after the grotesque and unique looks of the ones in the original, I personally cannot wait to see the new ones that are thought up. And multiplayer and I've heard that it isn't all that bad. If they can keep the balance between the horrific atmosphere and awesome action from the first game, this will be a great addition to the series.

#14. Duke Nukem Forever

Well, we've been waiting for 14 f*&kin years, but the Duke is finally back. Duke Nukem Forever has been the butt of almost every "development hell" joke for years now with no one ever thinking that it was going to get released, but during PAX 2010, Gearbox dropped the bomb out of frickin nowhere saying that a release date was set and a demo was ready to be played.

Duke Nukem 3D was one of the more popular FPS games of the late 90s due to it's great gameplay and level design and endlessly quotable main character (even if a few of his quotes are taken from cult classics like They Live and Evil Dead) and it's just great to see that he's finally coming back.

This game is on my list purely because we've been waiting 14 years for this game. It's time to see what we've been waiting for. Even if it sucks, at least can hold the Duke down. Hail To The King Baby!

#13. Mortal Kombat

 

After many lame attempts to turn the series into what it never should have been, Mortal Kombat is finally getting the reboot that fans of the series always wanted. It's going back to the basics, it's going to be simple, and it's going to be BLOODY. Really, really bloody.

Let's face it, Mortal Kombat can't compete with Capcom fighting games in terms of fighting system and gameplay. That's part of the reason they made Mortal Kombat violent in the first place. Seeing E3 footage of memorable characters delivering absolutely brutal and hilariously over-the-top fatalities was blissful.

Mortal Kombat is proof that incredible violence can sometimes inexplicably make something better. Mortal Kombat didn't need licensing with DC or complex fighting systems, just keep updating with new and creative violent moves every few years. Thankfully it looks like they're getting started. Oh and Kratos is going to be in the PS3 version. :D

#12. Bulletstorm

While the title may seem ridiculously generic, Bulletstorm promises to be anything but combining the gameplay of an FPS with stylish action that you'd find in a game like Bayonetta and the point system from MadWorld. This is what the FPS genre has needed, a really unique way of utilizing the genre. It looks like this could be the one that does it.

The more stylish the kills and shots you make in Bulletstorm, the more points you get to upgrade your character and move list and buy new weapons. It's being created by Epic Games, known for the Gears of War series and for getting its foot in the FPS genre with the incredibly popular Unreal series. That's already a great sign.

Using (or at least teasing) a unique gameplay system, or a compilation of a few different kind of gameplay systems that hasn't been thought of yet is the way to get on this list and Bulletstorm did just that.

#11. Dragon Age 2

The first entry on this list from BioWare. Dragon Age: Origins was one of my favorite games of 2009. Meant to be a spiritual successor to the groundbreaking Baldur's Gate which put BioWare on the map in 1998, Dragon Age: Origins had a unique origin system (as noted by the title), a great story, tactical gameplay, and REALLY gray morality.

Dragon Age 2 will follow-up by giving us a character with a set origin story. We will be playing as Hawke (who can be male or female), who's a refugee from Lothering, a town destroyed in the first game who will become a champion of the land. It sounds cliche but its method of the story's delivery that's unique.

Dragon Age 2's story will take place over a span of 10 years and be narrated to us by a dwarf who used to accompany Hawke and I'm curious to see if this will create a The Usual Suspects type situation. But it's the 10-year timespan that I'm really interested in. BioWare has pushed that they want players to feel the impact of their choices over a long-period of time in a single game. If they execute this properly, it will give us a story unlike any other.

The game will give the main character a voice and replace the text dialogue options with the dialogue from the Mass Effect series. Combat will still be tactical but be simplified. Some may complain about this but I don't have a problem. This game's predecessor, BioWare's promises and their brilliant track record, secures it a spot on my list.

#10. Marvel vs. Capcom 3

After years of no news, many people assumed that the Marvel vs. Capcom series was dead. Well, it's finally coming back and I couldn't be more excited. Quite a few new characters have come around or grown popular since Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Capcom has taken the liberty of putting them in with the two biggest additions being Dante from Devil May Cry and Deadpool.

Many other characters were added though from Frank West to Albert Wesker and rejoice: Mike Haggar from the Final Fight beat-em-up series was added just recently. Capcom has been making the best fighting games for over two decades now and they show no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 promises to be a great reboot to the series with excellent gameplay and characters that both gamers and comic readers know and love. I don't think there many games out there better for nerds than MvC3.

#9. Star Wars: The Old Republic
 

And we have the second BioWare game on this list. It's awesome when they just release one game in a year but we get a few from them this year. Anyway, a story-driven MMORPG. Who better to make it then the best storytellers in the industry and who better to make it based on the Star Wars universe than the makers of the best Star Wars game ever: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

This game will be set 300 years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic meaning it's still set about 3,500 years before the films. There's already been a huge amount of backstory provided by the trailers of the game and they only make me want to play it that much more.

This will be the first fully-voiced MMO and every class will have a story to tell. It's combat system appears to be a lot like World of Warcraft's and it will be using the dialogue wheel from the Mass Effect series. I'll admit, this is one of the entries that I'm really worried about with only a few making me more anxious, but I place my trust in BioWare. I can't wait to suit up with my lightsaber/blaster and see the kind of stories that exist in this MMO.

#8. Rage

Another generic title but Rage is being made by iD Software, the developer behind some of the greatest First-Person Shooters ever including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. You constantly pump out gold and you've got confidence from the consumer as BioWare has also shown us on this list.

It will feature predominantly FPS gameplay with a mixture of driving, sandbox world, and RPG weapon upgrading gameplay put in. The AI has been promised to be incredibly intelligent using the environment to their advantage to be able to get around the shots thrown at them and get closer to you.

Even if the post-apocalyptic setting has been done to death especially the Fallout games recently, it's a setting that for me is just classic and I really love the look of it from the trailers. All said, Rage is a game that I can't wait to get my hands on this year.

Well, that's Part 1 of my list, I'll be posting Part 2 tomorrow due to how long it's gotten.