E3 2014: My 10 Most Anticipated

Been about a year since my last post and I've constantly been trying to get back into the blogging game. I thought I'd revive the blog here and now.

E3 2014 starts on Tuesday of next week. Obviously tons of games have been announced to appear at E3 and many of them are ones that I'm really anticipating hearing about. I plan to watch all of the press conferences as well as give as much coverage as I possibly can with my time and resources. It may not be up to the minute, but I still plan on doing it and enjoying the hell out of it.

(Also before anyone questions the lack of Kingdom Hearts III, I just never got into the series that much. I'll still try to give some thoughts on what I see, though it will be somewhat ignorant).

#10. Star Wars: Battlefront

It's been nearly 10 years since the release of Star Wars: Battlefront II and many thought that the series was pretty much dead, especially after the dissolution of LucasArts. After the buyout by Disney, a deal was made with Electronic Arts for a 10 year deal. Now much can be said about EA's business practices and ethics (I've said a bit myself), but they still publish a lot of damn fine games.

So who better to give the reins of Battlefront to than the developer behind the franchise that pretty much made Battlefront possible: DICE. Battlefront is essentially a Battlefield game with Star Wars slapped on and that's not meant to be a bad thing.

Last year we got a little teaser for the new Battlefront, showing what appears to be Hoth with T-47 Airspeeders and AT-ATs. The new game is scheduled to be at E3 this year, so with luck, we'll get to see some gameplay footage this time around and maybe a (projected) release window.

#9. Mirror's Edge 2

Yes, another DICE game. While it hasn't been quite as long since the first Mirror's Edge came out as Battlefront 2, it's still been long enough to have left doubts in the minds of people as to whether or not it would continue as a series.

The first Mirror's Edge has some creative ideas for a first-person game and did a solid job of experimenting with them throughout its campaign, despite its short length. The parkour was very enjoyable to play around with. If they can give this one a more open feel to it, then it will the make experimentation of the first game feel paid off in full.

As for the story, Mirror's Edge 2 is not a sequel to the original, but a prequel. I have not seen any complete details about the story yet, other than that. The only other thing that I know is that it will not be written by the same writer as the first game.

I am looking forward to seeing more and how they broaden the concepts brought to the table by the first game.

#8. Destiny

Bungie's first game since Halo: Reach, Destiny is billed as an MMO FPS RPG. Quite a few acronyms but the gameplay footage from last year did not look too shabby. It, of course, had a Borderlands feel to it, but also had it's own distinct feel from Bungie's own history.

The environments and visuals also look beautiful, which is one of the things that I've always praised Bungie for, especially in comparison to many other FPS developers who have far less creativity in their art styles. We've already seen a good amount of gameplay footage to get a feel for how it will play, and if we get some more, I'm not complaining.

The game is currently set for a release date of September 9, 2014. And in addition to all of that, we've got Paul McCartney doing some music for it, as well as Peter Dinklage (a.k.a. Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones) as Ghost.

#7. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This is probably a little bit lower on my list than it should be for a couple of reasons. One, I just started getting into The Witcher about a month ago. Two, I have doubts about whether my PC will be able to handle it.

Considered one of the premier Western RPG franchises of the last 10 years, The Witcher is based off a popular series of novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. Not having read the stories yet, I can tell you some about the games. They follow the character Geralt, a witcher (monster-hunter). It's a series that has become known for its far-reaching choice-system and gray morality.

Wild Hunt is the final game of the trilogy, following the original and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. A new, excellent trailer was released for it yesterday, which I will post below.

And continuing the Game of Thrones theme this post has going for it, The Witcher 3 will also contain the voice acting talent of Charles Dance, who is probably now best known as Tywin Lannister, voicing Emperor Emhyr var Emreis.

#6. Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were among the finest and most polished games released for the last console generation. They have already spawned a number of imitators with their simple-but-effective combat system. Yet the games also had a clear love for the source, making them among the greatest licensed games ever made.

Batman: Arkham Origins was definitely inferior and incredibly buggy, but it was made by a different developer and was still a good game with a number of positive points including the excellent boss fights and Troy Baker's show-stealing performance as a young Joker.

Rocksteady has returned though and while we've only seen a cinematic trailer and screenshots so far, it's nice for the king to be back on the throne. A direct continuation of Arkham City, Gotham is still reeling from the aftermath, with a number of criminals attempting to fill in the vacuum left by a certain death.

So far we've gotten a look at Two-Face, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and heard Scarecrow (finally returning). Whether the Batmobile will be a gameplay element, I have not yet seen. But I hope that we see more gameplay in the next week.

#5. Alien: Isolation

After the colossal fuck-job that was Aliens: Colonial Marines, Sega is already trying again but with a different developer and a completely different approach. Whereas Colonial Marines "tried" and failed to capture the action atmosphere of Aliens, this one is attempting to capture the claustrophobic and slower paced atmosphere of Alien, the original.

Taking obvious influence from recent horror classic, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Isolation gives you no weapons and forces you to flee and hide from the xenomorph if it spots you. The trailers and gameplay footage released so far have been very promising and give me hope for a truly good Alien game.

The story will star the daughter of Ellen Ripley, Amanda Ripley, and will be taking place between Alien and Aliens. We will have to overlook the massive coincidence of Amanda encountering an alien while her mother is still in cryo-sleep waiting to be picked, but that's a minor issue.

This game does call for some caution due to the false marketing that was done Colonial Marines, though that could probably be applied to any game. No matter what, the stuff that has been released for it so far has been damn impressive and I am eagerly anticipating more.

#4. Bayonetta 2

Four years later and the original Bayonetta still holds up as the single greatest 3D hack-n-slash I've ever played. Its gameplay was fast-paced and had a lot of options filled with numerous combos, challenging but not overly-so, and had a surprisingly likable protagonist with Bayonetta herself.

I loved it so much that I'm pretty much planning on getting a Wii-U in the future for Bayonetta 2 ALONE!

The footage released for Bayonetta 2 is showing it attempting to take it up a notch. Sometimes bigger is better and it appears that's what Platinum Games is going for here. I have not heard much about the game since E3 last year, but I have not forgotten it.

From what I have read in the last week, Bayonetta 2 has been rated by Australia and is scheduled to come out in Japan later this summer, and has a later release date for the west. Unless it's Christmas time, I likely will not have a Wii-U yet, but that is one of my highest priorities as a gamer.

#3. Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Origins was an excellent fantasy RPG for BioWare, with a good storyline, memorable characters and enjoyable gameplay (at least on PC). Dragon Age II was a game with a great storyline and memorable characters, that was inferior to the original in every single other way. A good game but definitely a disappointment.

BioWare has the opportunity to make up for it this year with Dragon Age: Inquisition, and while I am remaining cautiously optimistic, the optimistic part grows with each new piece of footage. The scope of the game looks massive with obvious influence pulled from The Elder Scrolls, while still feeling like its own.

Storywise, the game looks to be attempting to, in some way, bring the narratives of Origins and 2 together. You play as a Chantry Inquisitor whose race and backstory you'll be able to pick from. Morrigan and Varric are both returning, as well as Cassandra Pentaghast, along with a few new characters already announced.

Visually, the game looks absolutely gorgeous, using the Frostbite Engine from the Battlefield games for its fantasy setting to wonderful effect. Far more visually appealing and colorful than DA2.

The gameplay shown in the trailer looks far more enjoyable and tactical than its predecessor. Overall, it feels like BioWare has been taking the best of Origins and 2 and fusing them together into what looks like a potentially awesome product.

I can't wait to see more and it's (obviously) one of my most anticipated games from E3.

#2. Game of Thrones

What is with me and Game of Thrones today? This is the third mention of it in one post. And Dragon Age itself pulled massive influence from A Song of Ice and Fire, the books Game of Thrones adapts.

Anyway, back in 2012, Telltale released one my two favorite games of that year (the other being Mass Effect 3). I think most people were taken by surprise by the monumental success that they saw and earned with The Walking Dead, one of the greatest emotional roller coasters in video game history and one of the few games to ever move me to actual tears (ME3 also being one of them).

While I have not started playing Season 2 of The Walking Dead yet (it's on my list), Telltale won my attention and respect for what they accomplished, as they did with many gamers.

As a far bigger fan of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones than either The Walking Dead comic and its incredibly inconsistent TV adaptation, I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard that they got the rights to make an episodic story for Game of Thrones.

Not many details have been given other than that it is primarily going to be using the television show's continuity. Game of Thrones has already had an RPG released for it, which I heard was quite mediocre. But Telltale has a good track record of emotionally involving narratives and characters. Having George R.R. Martin's personal assistant involved is also a good sign.

Where will it fit in the show's timeline? Which characters will be involved? When might Episode 1 see the light of day? I am extremely eager to hear more about the project and even the smallest details will likely make my day better. The lack of details so far is part of why I am so excited about it.

#1. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Seriously, what else could I put as my #1 pick here?

Earlier this year, we were treated to Ground Zeroes, a prologue (a.k.a. glorified demo) to the real game, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

While I may have just made a jab at Ground Zeroes, I still enjoyed the hell out of it. It has some of the finest open-world stealth gameplay that I've ever experienced, with the game actively encouraging the player to think outside of the box for solutions that the developers themselves may not have fully thought of.

And it only took place in a single prison camp. The Phantom Pain will have open-world environments in a couple of countries with different enemy patterns and activities depending on a number of factors such as the time of day, the location and your prior actions. I am also really anticipating seeing how those factor into boss fights.

Visually, the game looks to be one of the most impressive looking console titles ever released. Its lighting simply must be seen to be believed and both the environments and character models look marvelous.

As for the story, the game is meant to essentially be the grand finale for Big Boss, showing his final descent from the idealistic and patriotic soldier he was in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater to the bitter, vengeful, and well-intentioned villain that he was in the original Metal Gear games. Ground Zeroes did a superb job, as short as it was, of setting the groundwork.

Kojima really seems to want to player, not to observe Big Boss' descent into hell, but to go along with him in that descent. The disturbing imagery and footage from the trailers shows extremely heavy and taboo subject matter and I am curious to see its implementation. We got a preview of that in Ground Zeroes, which quickly came near the top of the list of the most unsettling games I've ever played.

As for Kiefer Sutherland, while I am still sad about the departure of David Hayter from his classic role, I remain optimistic about Sutherland for his portrayal.

Hideo Kojima announced that we will see more gameplay of The Phantom Pain so you can bet that if there's one game that I focus on next week, it will definitely be this one.

E3 2013 - Bayonetta 2 Trailer

It's time for me to get caught up on E3 and by extension, start posting and commenting on trailers on demoes.

First up is Bayonetta 2, the upcoming sequel to what I consider to be the finest 3D Hack-n-Slash ever made. The first game had a near perfect balance between style, in-depth mechanics, pick-and-play ability, difficulty, and fun. It's story was batshit insane but its title character was surprisingly likable and well-developed (not like that) and its mythology was memorable and unique.

The gameplay trailer has been released and it looks fantastic, with the same over-the-top and epic gameplay and sequences as the original. I'm unsure how well it will control on the Wii-U but I'm hoping there's a demo so we can hear more from those actually at E3 later on.

It also looked like it had multiplayer, which has been confirmed by Nintendo. I'm guessing it's a co-op system with one player as Bayonetta and another as Jeanne. But that's just what I gathered and I could be wrong.

While Super Smash Bros. is great, this is currently the game that will most likely drive me to purchase a Wii-U. I can't wait.

Something Fragile Needs Kickstarting

Sometimes you need to take risks to make progress. That's essentially what Kickstarter is about, the little guy taking a risk in order to potentially move forward in this medium and it's also the primary theme of a current game that needs funding from Kickstarter, Something Fragile.

Dubbed as a poetic puzzle game for PC and Mac, Something Fragile is being developed by Happy Badger Studio, an indie development team out of St. Louis, Missouri. It is meant to be a game of symbolic meaning to present its themes of love and risk.

The game's design is meant to be both challenging and inspiring at the same time. All of the in-game graphics are made from real-world items, brought to life through stop-motion animation. The game's evokes some feeling of a more light-hearted Limbo in my mind, going for a minimalist approach but with an obvious amount of effort behind it.

Your character in-game is meant to protect a heart, but in order to progress properly, you need to place the heart down, which also puts it in danger of environmental hazards. It's an interesting concept that brings the cult classic Ico to mind.

The game needs $18,000 to get the necessary funding, and is currently at $1,835. The campaign ends on April 25th.

If you want to see more information and potentially back this project, here's the link: Something Fragile Kickstarter.

New Arkham Game Set for 2013 and Why I'm Worried

In 2009, Batman: Arkham Asylum shocked the gamers, myself included, who thought it would be just another over-hyped licensed game. It had absolutely incredible quality, with superb gameplay, an enjoyable story, interesting ideas, great atmosphere, and a great deal of respect for the source material.

In 2011, Batman: Arkham City, was released to even greater acclaim and was my Game of the Year of 2011. It was a remarkable experience all the way through with an excellent opening and a haunting ending that still gives me chills when I get to it.

Yes, I am a huge Batman fan so I've been loving the absolutely incredible time that he has had for the past eight years. Speaking of which, today the last issue of Scott Snyder's spectacular story arc, Death of the Family got released. Pick it up now (DC, contact me to know where to send the check for that plug).

Gaming bliss!

So you can imagine my excitement when Time Warner announced this week that a new Arkham game was marked for release later this year. Then I started getting rumors.

Now keep in mind that these are just rumors and therefore I'm not completely despairing yet. These are just worried thoughts from a fan of both the Arkham games and Batman in general, who REALLY wants a strong follow-up to the two greatest superhero games in history.

#1. A Prequel

In 2012, a piece of DLC was released as a follow-up to the shocking ending of Arkham City titled Harley Quinn's Revenge. For those who didn't see my short review of it, I was not a fan. The main problem with the DLC was that it introduced some interesting new story threads and didn't follow through on any of them.

I was not a fan of Harley Quinn's Revenge and I want some damn resolution on its threads.

Batman was more emotionally closed off than ever after the events of Arkham City and the effect that the ending had on the series as a whole was only scratched on the surface. Harley got great development but so little closure over all.

I was hoping that they would go into these threads and give resolution in the sequel...which they have apparently decided not to make. I wouldn't have too much of a problem with the idea of a prequel as long as we have closure to what's already there.

#2. The Joker

SPOILER WARNING: I will make mention of the end of Arkham City below so be careful.

This is basically an extension of my argument against a prequel, but one of the rumors is that the prequel will be about the first meetings between Batman and the Joker. This worries me on many levels as both a fan of the series and a fan of Batman.

First, the series already seemed to be going on my favorite idea of the Joker's origin, namely the one from the classic Alan Moore story, The Killing Joke, arguably the greatest Joker story ever written. The idea is that the origin is ambiguous, it is one that not even he fully remembers and the details of it change every time he thinks about it with Batman being the only consistent element in it.

Good ideas can come from either showing or calling back to the first meeting between Batman and the Joker. The Dark Knight from Christopher Nolan showed him having to adjust to having to fight an opponent who was so different from the mob thugs he generally took on, both in unpredictability and in  his psychological mind games with Batman.

Or how about the recent storyline by Scott Snyder, Death of the Family? Sure, it's not a retelling of the Joker's origin but it does make many callbacks to his and Batman's first meetings, using that to confuse Batman about what he's going to do.

The point is that you really need to have an interesting idea to make this work. And also the end of Arkham City was such an appropriate sendoff to the Joker in this universe. I would rather not see him in this series again but see the lasting impact he has left on Gotham, another reason I would prefer a sequel.

The Joker (and Mark Hamill) had a brilliant sendoff in Arkham City, one that shouldn't be spoiled.

Also Mark Hamill has retired from the role. There have been other good Joker voices such as John DiMaggio in Batman: Under the Red Hood and Michael Emerson in The Dark Knight Returns. But you've already established Hamill as the Joker in this universe and he is unquestionably THE definitive Joker voice. Anyone else who comes in is likely going to fall short.

#3. Silver Age Tribute

For those who don't know, the Silver Age of Comics was a period in comics from 1950s to the 1970s. It is nowadays well known for its utter insanity with storylines that made no logical sense, goofiness and utterly unrealistic situations (even for superhero comics). It generally regarded as ending in 1973 when Gwen Stacey was killed by the Green Goblin in Spider-Man #121.

Batman was no exception to this as we saw the lightening of his rogues gallery which nowadays is considered one of the most violent and psychopathic group of rogues in all of fiction. It affected another medium too with the 60s Adam West series which gave us the infamous Shark Repellant Bat Spray.

The Silver Age was appropriate for the times given the world atmosphere. Keep in mind that the world had just gone through the most devastating conflict in human history, World War II, which was preceded by another World War a few decades before. The world was also facing the fear of nuclear annihilation from the Cold War. In the meantime, the Comics Code Authority was gaining power and was increasingly cracking down on what they considered to be "offensive" content.

Now, I have nothing against the Silver Age. It's good that it eventually ended to allow the maturing of the medium (though the Dark Age brought that back), but the Silver Age itself is still a guilty pleasure. It was fun and wacky and didn't take itself seriously in the slightest. I earlier made quick mention of the animated series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold which was itself a great tribute to the Silver Age.

The problem is that the Arkham games are about as far from the Silver Age as you can get. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are DARK. These are games that are so dark that I still wonder how they got past the ESRB without an M rating. This game managed to make Calendar Man terrifying. Outside of The Long Halloween, he's always been one of the biggest jokes in Batman's rogues gallery.

Scarecrow in Arkham AsylumYeah, this is not the Silver Age.

The problem here is that the kind of tonal shift rumored here is not good. It brings inconsistency to a series that has been so respectful to the source material, more specifically, the modern, gritty Batman. If you want to make a tribute to the Silver Age, fine. In fact I would probably enjoy it, but don't lump it into the same universe that saw a man attempt genocide against all criminals.

#4. No Rocksteady

Rocksteady Studios deserves massive credit for the work they've done on this series. And the rumor that they won't be on this game is one of the most worrying rumors I've heard for it.

They've made two near perfect action-adventure games with the first two. They've shown incredible respect for the source material and have really made you feel like Batman. I'm worried about the ability of another developer to pick this up.

This isn't automatically a death sentence to the next game if it's true. Halo 4 (haven't played it just yet) was apparently a very solid addition to the series despite being made by a different developer. But there are so few studios that have actually made a solid superhero game that it really worries me.


Keep in mind, that for the moment these are rumors. Even if they turn out true, I'm an optimist if you haven't noticed in past blog posts and will still hold out hope for the game to be a worthy addition to this fantastic series. None of these problems are absolute game-killers.

I'm just here giving my worries on the subject. I love these two games. Second to the Mass Effect series, this might be my favorite new series of this console generation. I just want to see good execution so that I can continue to love the series as a whole.

Senator Leland Yee on Violence in Video Games

California State Senator has been a long time opponent of the video game industry and the amount of violent games there are. Every year he writes about games for parents NOT to buy their children at Christmas, has written several bills to bring government regulations against the industry, etc.

He may be best known for being the man behind AB1179, better known as Schwarzenegger v. EMA which was the biggest push that he made for government regulation. It passed the California legislature and the governor's office but was struck down by the Supreme Court as a violation of the 1st Amendment.

The bill would have made it a crime to sell a game of a certain rating to minors and would have brought a fine and possible prison time for repeat offenses. No other entertainment industry, other than pornography, has such restrictions which was hypocritical and frankly, wrong.

However, this time the Senator has really pissed me off. He states,

Gamers have got to just quiet down. Gamers have no credibility in this argument. This is all about their lust for violence and the industry's lust for money. This is a billion-dollar industry. This is about their self-interest.

Where to start with this quote?

• Let's start with the fact that this is an absolute strawman's argument of the highest order. Gamers are apparently only protecting their rights to play these games, not because of a wealth of reasons whether fun gameplay, enjoyable stories, etc. No, they do it simply because they love violence and can't get enough.This is not the way to get people to listen to you Mr. Yee. You are not strengthening your argument but trying to denigrate those who are against you. People play games for multiple and it is very rarely just because of the violence. A game needs much more than violence in order to succeed which already debunks this idiotic statement.

• The game industry only cares about money. You could that argument about almost ANY industry. "This is about their self-interest." Well of course it is. But it's also about getting the same protection of any other entertainment industry. I could argue that the entire reason that you are going after video games is to only build up your political career and influence. You can say no but so can the gaming industry which means that entire argument has no basis here.

• And finally, the most insulting point of all, that us gamers need to be quiet and let you do what you want. We need to shut up and "let the grown-ups talk" so to speak. The average gamer Mr. Yee is between around 25-35 years old. I myself am 21 and will be 22 in March. We have a voice and we deserve to be heard as that is what being a part of a democracy is all about. You don't think we have credibility and don't want us in the argument? Well either you need to deal with that Mr. Holier-Than-Thou or get the hell out of this country.

The saddest thing is I would be willing to listen to Senator Yee if he would be fair and reasonable. People have different views on how the world works and I want to know them so we can work out a compromise of some kind. But Mr. Yee is not being fair or reasonable. He creates strawman arguments and belittles those who he disagrees with.

And worst of all, especially from a senator who should know better, he feels that gamers should not have a voice in this argument. KISS! MY! ASS! I will not shut up on this and you can not do a thing about it. This country is not about making YOUR ideal world but making one that works as best as it can for all. As long as you keep speaking on it, so will we.

Metal Gear Retrospective: Introduction

Metal Gear. Since the original game landed on the MSX2 in 1987, the franchise has become one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful franchises in the medium. With an incredibly complex, gripping and emotionally engaging story, complex and flawed characters, in-depth social commentary, outstanding gameplay, and some of the best damn boss fights ever made, it has easily earned that honor.

Complex storytelling and excellent gameplay have made Metal Gear one of the critically and commercially successful franchises on the market.

Since I started this blog, I have made it no secret that I am a huge fan of the series. I have consistently listed it as one of my Top 3 Franchises along with Metroid and Mass Effect. I've labeled Solid Snake and Big Boss two of the most engaging and complex protagonists in the medium and even made a Top 20 list of the best boss fights in the series (they are that good).

Now, it is time for me to pay full tribute to this remarkable series with my first retrospective. For this retrospective, we will only be looking at the games that are canon to the main story (with one exception which I'll explain when I get to it). For those not knowledgeable on the series, here is the list of the canon games and the order I'll be doing them in.

• Metal Gear
• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
• Metal Gear Solid
• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Full story summaries, analysis, gameplay overviews, boss fights, a look at the history of the making of the series, etc. I will also be going over the impact it has had on the industry, as well as giving my own thoughts for each game as I go through them.

Some games will only have one blog entry on them, whereas some will have multiple, depending on how complex each one is and if I feel that it's becoming unwieldy in one blog entry. There will also be spoilers to the max. I will give spoiler warnings before anything major and also let you know when they are done. At the end I will also be posting a massive story overview in chronological order with all the revelations from the series placed in context.

I hope to post the first part sometime later this week. If a post comes up later than I said, just keep in mind that this is a very complex series and I'm attempting to structure things to make them as clean and organized as possible.

I can't wait to begin writing it and I hope you all enjoy my look at one of the finest series of games in existence.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

For those of you wondering about the Metroid and Silent Hill retrospectives, they will come. I eventually realized that I had to do my two favorite franchises, Metroid and Metal Gear before any others (Mass Effect wasn't considered given how new it is). I left it up to friends of mine to vote for it and the majority voted Metal Gear. I hope that clears up any confusion.

END NOTE

Mass Effect 3 - Retaliation Multiplayer DLC

On Tuesday, Mass Effect 3's co-op is getting a massive update. A new DLC pack titled Retaliation will be released and it will be completely free like all of the multiplayer packs before it. Retaliation will add a new enemy faction to the three already there: Reapers, Cerberus, and Geth. With this DLC, the Collectors from Mass Effect 2 will become an enemy faction, though I guess you could say they still fall under the Reapers.

But that's not all. New weapons and characters will be added of course, including what looks like a JETPACK TURIAN AND THAT IS AWESOME!

Turian with a jetpack = the coolest thing I've seen all week.

Whether there are all new maps, I don't know, but I do know that certain old maps will also be given a hazard treatment. What the hell is a hazard treatment you ask? Well, they'll be putting environmental hazards into the stage which will give even more obstacles to have fun with.

On top of this, if you played Mass Effect 3's multiplayer after last night's patch, you might have noticed challenge boxes come up but with no explanation for what they are. Well, BioWare is adding challenges to the multiplayer, similar to Call of Duty's. These will be used to unlock items, and what exactly those items will be, I don't know and they might even be simply cosmetic but I would like it anyway simply because of the perfectionist in me that would like to complete stuff like that.

And again, it is free. After the Leviathan DLC, I was expecting the free DLC to stop but apparently some is still coming, so get your games set for Tuesday and I'll see you on the warfront.

Now if we could just get information on the Omega DLC. I hope that means Aria will have a big part in it. Damn I love that character.

Assassin's Creed III - Connor's Story

Yes I'm finally posting again. Well Assassin's Creed III is less than a month away and it looks amazing. The new trailer released today gives a greater look at the character of Connor Kenway, the protagonist of ACIII, and his motivations.

One of the things that I'm very excited about is simply seeing a new character in the first place. While Ezio was an excellent protagonist, by the time of Revelations, I felt that he overstayed his welcome and I got tired of seeing him. The Animus is a story device with so many different possibilities and it's great to see a new scenario with it. Connor is looking like a strong protagonist and I'm really anticipating seeing his story play out.

Note: A Metroid retrospective will be beginning sometime next week.

E3 2012 - South Park: The Stick of Truth

I've been unexpectedly excited about the new South Park RPG since it was announced. Given how crappy most television tie-in games have been and how crappy of a track record South Park has with video games (one or two downloadable games aside), what made me excited about this?

Primarily, it's developer: Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian is very much a "love it or hate it" developer and for understandable reasons. The RPGs they develop usually have a great amount of depth and great writing, but they're also known for being bugged up the ass and for feeling unfinished. I might talk more about Obsidian as the game comes closer to release but my overall opinion is that they're a developer that makes great titles that unfortunately don't meet their full potential.

Hopefully that will be broken here, but no matter what I'm thinking that we can expect a quality RPG with a good amount of depth to it.

Another reason I'm excited is that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are getting a lot of creative control. This really didn't happen with South Park games in the past which were probably a factor in their poor quality.

I'm posting two videos here. The first is Matt and Trey talking about the game briefly at the Microsoft press conference. The second is the trailer itself.

And now for the trailer.

WARNING: The trailer below has anti-semitic remarks and foul language...but if those trouble you then why the hell are you watching a trailer for a South Park game.

As has been stated before, the game will be a turn-based RPG. I don't know exactly why they went this route instead of real-time so don't ask me. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just curious why they took that style.

You'll also be able to choose between five opening classes: Fighter, Mage, Thief, Cleric and...Jew. The offensive humor is definitely there as seen by the trailer and the classes themselves. Definitely a plus.

I also laughed my ass off when I saw Professor Chaos. No not the small one, but the freakishly huge one with the anime art-style from the excellent episode, Good Times with Weapons.

Overall, I'm quite excited about this and can't wait for March 5 which will see the release of both this and Tomb Raider.

E3 2012: Gears of War Judgment Teaser

Hopefully, all of you know by now that I am not the biggest Gears of War fan. I've played the first two and enjoyed them but they just never grabbed. I still haven't played 3 (it's still on my list) so I didn't really care when a new Gears of War was announced.

But I got the teaser anyway and a bit of news caught my attention which I'll get into after the teaser.

Okay, not a bad teaser. But what really caught my attention that I didn't see in the teaser: the developer.

Gears of War Judgment is being developed by People Can Fly, the developers of Painkiller and the criminally underrated and overlooked Bulletstorm. While I'd rather they be developing a Bulletstorm sequel, especially given the cliffhanger that it ended on, I'll still look into what they do with the franchise. But after this, please make another Bulletstorm.

E3 2012: Tomb Raider - My Faith Restored

I feel like I was one of the few people who was unimpressed by Tomb Raider's showing at E3 last year. The cinematic trailer was great showing that it would primarily be more like a survival story than just a treasure hunt which, let's be honest, Uncharted has pretty much hijacked at this point.

However, the gameplay trailer did not impress me. All I saw were a bunch of quicktime events. Now I'm not one of those who hates all quicktime events but an enormous amount are not good. I should also clarify that it depends on the game and I don't like a lot of them in a game like Tomb Raider.

This recent trailer has restored my faith in this being the potentially strong reboot that this franchise really needs.

The emphasis on the survival continues showing brutal attempts by Lara to do so on a seemingly deserted island. I'm hoping there's a bigger emphasis on platforming in order to separate it from Uncharted. I know that Tomb Raider was first but at this point, Uncharted has such a foothold that Tomb Raider needs to distinguish itself from it.

From what I can hear, the voice acting is iffy in places and definitely needs some work, but giving Lara Croft a vulnerability looks like it might work great.

Some have stated that they're worried about this turning into Other M, but there are key differences between this and Other M which I know of even before the game is out. If I see any comparisons continue I might make a post about that but I really hope people can see the differences themselves so that won't be necessary.

Overall, still some worries, but this left a much better impression on me than last year's showing.

E3 2012: Dishonored Gameplay is Good and Bloody

Being described as a combination of Bioshock, Elder Scrolls, Thief, Assassin's Creed, and Deus Ex, all of those games' influences can be seen in the new gameplay trailer for Dishonored. Well, except Deus Ex but apparently that's supposed to be more in terms of the story.

The three minute trailer shows us a good amount of the first-person stealth-melee gameplay involved and shows the influences of the games mentioned above with atmosphere similar to Bioshock and Thief, a second hand using powers similar to Bioshock and Elder Scrolls, the kill animations look similar to Elder Scrolls and much of the scenery and art style look similar to the renaissance as used in Assassin's Creed II. And it looks bloody. Really, really bloody.

It does have me intrigued and looks like a really fun time. The sites that I go to, or the forums at least, have a lot of people hyping this game. Hopefully it lives up to it.

Blog Resuscitated: Updates, Trailers and News

I'm back. Yes it's been a long while since the last post but I've been swamped. The last semester was brutal and I've also been hunting for internships for a while now.

So what's the position of the blog now?

Well, as for the Mass Effect 3 review, it feels too late now. I'll sum it up though. The game is spectacular with a crappy last 10 minutes. You've probably heard that before and it's because it's true. I do highly recommend it, but just be wary of those last 10 minutes. Before that though, it's an incredibly emotionally-engaging storyline with moments that are almost guaranteed to move you to tears.

Now, as for the for the Metal Gear retrospective. I'm currently putting that on hold in favor of a Metroid retrospective. The Metal Gear one will also come but I want a good amount of time and planning to get that down. Metroid will be much easier to handle.

Retro reviews will be starting up again later this summer with Baldur's Gate series.

Finally, E3 starts tomorrow so get ready for a slew of posts to make up for the lack over the past month and a half.

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Harley Quinn's Revenge

First up, my thoughts on the Harley Quinn DLC for Batman: Arkham City.

For those of you who forgot my thoughts on the main game, I'll refresh. Arkham City was, simply put, the best game I played all year last year. It's gameplay was simply impeccable, it's open-world design well-executed, it had a twisting and solid storyline with excellent voice acting and some of the most sadistic portrayals of certain Batman villains ever.

Now as for Harley Quinn's Revenge, I was unsatisfied. As you would expect the gameplay is similar but the design is limited only to the Industrial Mill of Arkham City. It really comes down to the story though.

Following the events of the main game, Harley Quinn has become even more unhinged and psychotic than she already was. This is the part that was well-executed. The writing and voice acting from the incredibly talented Tara Strong really give off an even more deranged persona than there was in the main game.

The part that disappointed me was Batman. They say throughout the entire DLC that he's not been himself since the end of the main game. And that is never looked into beyond that. I suppose it's hinting at future DLC or the sequel (whenever that comes) but it left me wanting more from this.

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Metal Gear Rising Revengeance Trailer

I've been very mixed on the stuff that I've seen for the new Metal Gear game. The new trailer shown at Konami's pre-E3 press conference still has me mixed.

Okay, on the one hand, the gameplay looks excellent and really fun. I wouldn't expect any different from Platinum Games, the makers of freaking Bayonetta.

The problem is that it doesn't feel like Metal Gear. That for me is not a huge problem but it's still something that currently bothers me. Maybe the story will give it the Metal Gear feel but I'm just not quite getting it right now.



Well, that's it for now. Tomorrow E3 begins.

Compsoles is back!

Dark Souls on PC, Dragon Age III, and Crysis 3

Hey everyone, I'm not dead and the Mass Effect 3 review and Top X list is still coming. I know it's really late and I haven't posted in a while but I have been crazy busy. But here's some news (some of it old I admit).

Dark Souls was one of my Top 10 games of 2011 making the #2 spot right behind Batman: Arkham City. It's difficulty was great and its sense of progression incredibly rewarding. PC players have been clamoring for a PC version of the game since its release back in October. Namco is listening and a PC version of the game will be released on August 24th.

The PC version will have new bosses that weren't in the original version plus some possible other extras. I'm personally hoping that they will add these to the console versions at some point like CD Projekt Red is doing with The Witcher 2.

Controversy has stemmed over the fact that to use online, you have to use Games for Windows Live. Not knowing much about the service myself, I can't really comment. However, I can guarantee that as long as the controls are nailed down, this is definitely a game for PC players to look at.

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BioWare is completely done with Dragon Age II. After two pieces of DLC, one of which was lackluster (Legacy), the other of which was great (Mark of the Assassin), BioWare had planned one more piece of DLC but has decided to drop it in favor of moving onto Dragon Age III.

I replayed Dragon Age II recently and I stand by what I said in my review in comparison to Dragon Age: Origins: better story, weaker game. Many disagree with me on the first part but I have my reasons for my love of DAII's story and my enjoyment of it over Origins. Dragon Age II's story was more personal and on a smaller scale with even grayer morality than the original. It started out slow but the second and third arc were spectacular. Dealing the qunari was fascinating and the mage/templar conflict was very well set-up throughout the game.

However, the rest of the game was definitely inferior and BioWare is trying to assure us that they have listened to our complaints. They have mentioned our complaints about the repetitive dungeon design (one of my biggest complaints), lack of depth compared to Origins, and even commented on our complaints about the Mass Effect 3 ending (my spoiler-free thoughts on that when I put up the review). 

While I do love BioWare, all I can say is to show us, not just tell us. E3 is coming up in a few months and that's your chance to show us what you're doing. I'm still excited for the game and want it to be an improvement over a game that was good but nowhere near the standard I expect from BioWare. All that said, I'm intrigued as to where the story will go. Like I said, the mage/templar conflict was fascinating in DAII and now we've got a full civil war about to start. So I'll keep my eyes open and hope that BioWare justifies their claims.

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When Crysis was released on PC in 2007, it was graphical and design powerhouse. It looked beautiful and map designs were open and gave great freedom to the player. Last year's Crysis 2 was a controversial release that scaled back the graphics and design in order to fit it on consoles. It was still critically acclaimed but many PC players felt gipped.

That will probably continue as Crysis 3 has been announced for a Spring 2013 release on the PC and all consoles including the Wii-U. Another complaint raised by a lot of PC players was that the game took place in New York rather than in a jungle the way the original had. Well, that complaint goes unanswered as Crysis 3 will be taken back to New York. I personally don't get why you would set a game like this in the same city twice in a row in a series. It seems like you'd run out of design options at a point.

I played a bit of both games and did prefer the original from what I played. Based on what I've read, I'm not too excited about getting into Crysis 3. We'll have to see what happens from here but it's just not clicking.

Mojang and Bethesda Settle and Diablo III Release Date

Hey guys. I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything but I've been playing a LOT of Mass Effect 3. The review will hopefully be up tomorrow or Wednesday, followed by two other posts, one about the ending and then a list of the best moments from the game.

But two pieces of news that I want to mention.

First up, the Mojang v. Bethesda lawsuit that Tyler and I had talked about so much on the podcast, is finally over and in a predictable way. The suit was over Mojang's upcoming game, Scrolls, which Bethesda stated infringed on their copyright because of their series The Elder Scrolls. It was dumb case that had no legs to support it. If it wasn't going to go Mojang's way, it was going to be a settlement.

The settlement gives the full licensing right of the Scrolls name to ZeniMax, Bethesda's parent company, and in turn they licensed the name to Mojang for their game Scrolls. They also will not make an Elder Scrolls competitor using the name. Both parties seemed pleased with the final settlement and hopefully we can now put this bullcrap behind us.

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Last month, I talked about how Diablo III was delayed once again. Originally supposed to come out in Q1 of 2012, it was pushed back to around to Q2 of 2012. We finally have a definitive release date for the title.

Diablo III now has a release date for most of the world on May 15th. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico gamers will be able to download it digitally on that day and retail copies will become available on June 7th.

No word yet on how this effects the possible release date of Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm or any other upcoming Blizzard products but it's good to know that Diablo III will finally get its release.

MASS EFFECT 3 RELEASES TOMORROW - What I'm Excited About

We are one day away from the release of Mass Effect 3, without a doubt, my most anticipated game of all-time. The first two games were spectacular and have told arguably my favorite story in video game and one of my all-time favorite sci-fi stories.

A remarkable universe, excellent dialogue, outstanding storytelling and absolutely superb voice acting have been the cornerstones that have made this series great and memorable. With luck those will continue into the final game of this incredible trilogy.

So what am I most looking forward to in this trilogy's finale? Well, it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing, so I've got a list of the things that I'm most looking forward to experiencing in Mass Effect 3. This is not a traditional list. Rather, it's a list of five things that I'm most curious in experiencing with no real order to them. So here we go. WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ME1 AND ME2 BELOW!

#1. SOUNDTRACK

A bit of a different one than the others but something that I'm very excited to hear. The first Mass Effect had a brilliant sci-fi soundtrack with a good helping of techno and synth that added to the mood. While Mass Effect 2 still had a great soundtrack, it didn't quite have the same feel as the first game's.

This has apparently changed from the pieces that I've heard and they've been SPECTACULAR. The piece from a mission on Mars in particular, which I have below, has made me come to the conclusion that this has the potential to be the best soundtrack in the entire series. Please let me be right. It sounds so good.

#2. CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

The Mass Effect series has one of the finest cast of characters in all of gaming. Nearly all are complex and in-depth and their relationships with Commander Shepard have been one of the main draws of the series for me. As we come to the end of this trilogy, it's time to see where the relationships go.

I'm particularly interested in Shepard's relationship with the Virmire Survivor (Ashley Williams/Kaidan Alenko). Good friends and comrades in the first game Shepard and Ashley/Kaidan parted on a bitter note in Mass Effect 2, with Shepard reluctantly working with a terrorist organization. Recent videos still show quite a bit of tension between the two and it has me really curious as to where that will lead.

But other relationships also increase my anticipation. Will my Shepard get the happy ending with Liara that she's been hoping for? What role will Legion, Wrex, Mordin, Miranda, etc. play? I could go on for a while but I'm simply so excited to see the culmination of all of the character development we've so far. Almost there.

#3. WHAT IS THE ILLUSIVE MAN PLANNING?

What are you planning you magnificent bastard?

Quite possibly the most intriguing character in the entire series is the mysterious Illusive Man, head the pro-human terrorist organization, Cerberus. Martin Sheen was perfectly cast as the character, giving a perfect combination of sinisterness and charm. In Mass Effect 2, he gave, in my mind, the second best performance in the game, second only to Jennifer Hale as FemShep. In a series lauded for having some of the finest voice acting imaginable, that equates to a really, REALLY good performance.

Now, as we come to the end, one of my biggest questions is "What is he planning?" The Illusive Man, and by extension BioWare, have done a superb job of keeping his greater plans under wraps. I would not put anything past him. This is a man who, I feel, is capable of anything. If he's planning a massive Xanatos Gambit, he is fully capable of pulling it off.

#4. THE POLITICS

Will we finally be able to respond to the turian councilor's airquotes with our own airquotes?

Mass Effect is a very politically driven franchise. The series is just as much about political conflicts and power struggles as it is about the conflict with the Reapers. With an entire galaxy at war for its survival against an ancient enemy and many species attempting to take advantage of the chaos, I'm very curious to see the political climate that will be in Mass Effect 3.

So far we've got tensions between the salarians and krogan, humans and turians, a 300 year old conflict between the quarians and geth with the quarians wanting to break the ceasefire, a cold war brewing on something larger between humans and batarians, etc. There are so many possibilites here and it's making me salivate in anticipation. Can they possibly come together to fight a common enemy that has committed galactic genocide countless times? That is a big question and one that I can't wait to see the answer to.

#5. HOW DO WE STOP THE REAPERS?

The Reapers are a terrifying force and antagonistic group. They're basically mechanical Cthulhu. Unimaginably powerful, ancient, sentient starships that have committed systematic galactic genocide every 50,000 years for at least 37 million years, and I'd bet everything that they've been doing it far longer. And that's already over 700 civilizations wiped out.

The Reapers are among the most powerful antagonists I've ever seen. How powerful are they? Well at the end of the first game, it took around 40 ships to destroy ONE Reaper, around two fleets. And while it appears that Sovereign was an exceptionally powerful Reaper and most are not that powerful, even the weakest ones take a massive amount of punishment to even dent.

So the question is, how are they going to be stopped. It's obvious that right now, they are not going to be beaten in a straight-up fight. From what I've heard, Mass Effect 3 will revolve around Shepard both building up galactic forces and look for ANYTHING that might offer some hope.

This leads into another question: what are they and where did they come from? Part of what has made them so terrifying (not counting the mind rape that is indoctrination, what they do to those they don't kill, etc.) is that we know barely anything about them. As Sovereign said, "[We] are beyond your comprehension." We got limited answers in the second game but they still remain an enigmatic force and are all the more terrifying because of it.

All I know, is I cannot wait to stick it to them and I hope you all are as well. The Reaper invasion will begin tomorrow when Mass Effect 3 finally hits stores. So get your Shepards ready and get set to kick some Reaper ass.

Metal Gear Retrospective: Intro

Metal Gear. Those two words represent one of the most respected and widely acclaimed franchises in all of gaming. If you look up professional lists of the 10 best gaming franchises, Metal Gear is likely to be there. Hell, it's my #2 following only Metroid and Mass Effect trailing behind it.

What makes the series so great? While it wasn't the first stealth franchise, it did popularize stealth in video games. It's got an incredibly in-depth and complex story, some would argue overly so. It's characters are beyond memorable and iconic, from Solid Snake and Big Boss to Liquid Snake and Revolver Ocelot. There is arguably no series better for boss fights than this one. I made a Top 20 list of the best boss fights from this series and there's a reason it had to be 20.

Despite not having the best dialogue, the voice acting is consistently excellent. Cutscenes go on a little long but they still succeed in telling a compelling storyline and drawing out emotion from players. It's fourth-wall breaking humor is always enjoyable and its excellent mix of patient stealth and awesome action is the perfect balance.

I've been planning on doing a retrospective of this series for a while and if I haven't conveyed my love for this series enough, this should hopefully sell it. It may take a little while, especially with Mass Effect 3 two days away but I hope that this provides a great look back at one of the all-time greats or serve as a gateway for those who have never played it before.

So keep your eyes open as starting soon, I'll be looking at the series in the order they released in. Only the canon games though. Only one thing to say, "Metal Gear?!?"

Mass Effect 3 Launch Trailer, Assassin's Creed III, Bioshock Release Date,

We are four days away from the release of Mass Effect 3 and with any release, a launch trailer has been released. It does what I expect Mass Effect to do and love it for. A good combination of drama and action. Not much to say beyond that so here it is.

Open with one of Clint Mansell's pieces for the game, and we can also see that the Destiny Ascension is coming back. Geth and Quarians fighting, turian ships fighting Reapers, the Illusive Man threatening Shepard, and Banshees still creeping me the frack out, a lot happened in this trailer.

But it was the ominous and quiet phrase that Liara said at the end amid just an enormous amount of destruction that sold this trailer for me, "This is it, isn't it?" Yes Liara, in more ways than one. This is going to be a great journey.

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I probably really haven't stated enough that I really dislike the practice of once per year releases. Not just because it will likely affect the quality of the game but because it takes all of the suspense and excitement out of waiting for a new release and official announcements.

Such has become the case of the Assassin's Creed series. That said, the fact that we're finally moving away from Ezio definitely gives a bit more excitement to see what's cooking in ACIII. And we've got some news on that front. The details of this are coming from CVG by the way.

The new setting for Assassin's Creed III will be in colonial America. It will take place over a 30 year period from 1753 to 1783. You will play as Connor, the son of an Englishman and a Native American woman. Like 2, it will start before he becomes an assassin and will go over his childhood. Some complained that this made the beginning of Assassin's Creed II slow and boring but I disagree. It did a great job of establishing Ezio's character and making me care about him and see his motivations, a huge turn from Altair.

Here's our first look at Connor:

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Finally, Bioshock Infinite is another huge release for 2012 and it appears that we finally have a release date.

Bioshock Infinite currently has a release date set for October 16, 2012. Very excited to see the final product. The first was awesome even if it didn't quite hit the same level as System Shock 2. The second was good but nowhere near the level I expected.

With Ken Levine back on, this should be a great ride.