Month: September 2009

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Drops the F-Bomb

We’re getting closer to 2010, which mean that we’re starting to see some new media from a lot of next year’s big titles. Mass Effect 2 and Splinter Cell have been conducting the information blitz, but one game I’ve kept my eyes peeled for especially is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, seemingly the millionth game this quarter to bear the number “2” in it’s title.

The original Bad Company’s multi-player was surprisingly robust, owing in part to the amazing environmental destruction mechanics. With a year and a bit of refinement behind it, Bad Company 2 is well positioned to deliver the same crazy shoot-outs, even if it looks like it’s been bitten by the Call of Duty bug. Check out the trailer, which contains a surprisingly large number of epithets, so exercise discretion if you’re around those with sensitive ears.

The game also looks really polished graphically, so consider me psyched for this! Is anyone else looking forward to some more Bad Company, and what systems are you getting it for?

A Little Bit of LOL: Video Game Facebook

Facebook is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, one where the slightest misstep can end up as an embarrassingly tagged photo that leads to an awkward conversation with your parents about boundaries of privacy. Of course, for all the evil that Facebook has brought upon our world, there’s sometimes a lighter side to these things.

Take for example these five bits of video game character Facebooking. The sad thing is, I think we all know people whose posts are at least a little bit like this. Check out the pictures after the jump.
Continue reading A Little Bit of LOL: Video Game Facebook

Heavy Rain Corner Store Gameplay

Man, I want this game. Even though Heavy Rain has been pushed into 2010, it doesn’t make it any less desirable. Especially if gameplay videos like these keep popping up.

In this new video highlighting a corner store sequence, we see a detective trying to find out more about the Origami Killer that he is pursuing. Unfortunately for him, a robber shows up in the store, demanding and waving a gun the way robbers are wont to do. The cool thing about this video though, is that it shows several of the different ways that this sequence could ultimately pan out, including the main character himself dying, at which point a new character would take over.

GamerSushi Asks: List Your Fall Purchases

beatlesrockbandThe Fall gaming season is upon us! That’s right, the time of year that we all wait for without much patience, reacting to every bit of news and feasting upon new gameplay videos. I really truly hunger for this season each and every year, and the new experiences that lie in wait inside disc-shaped treasures. New video games. Does it get any better?

While I believe we’ve asked this question in months past, things always seem to change at the last minute as more information comes out and we get to see some more gameplay, or even read reviews. So I’ll ask it again: what games are you going to purchase over the next few months?

For me, I’m going to be picking up Dragon Age: Origins and Modern Warfare 2 for sure, having already partaken in the fun Firefights of Halo 3: ODST and the melodious harmonies of Beatles Rock Band. Recently added to my list is Uncharted 2, which has received some resounding praise that I just can not ignore any longer. I’ve also removed Borderlands from my list, as I’ve read a few “meh” assessments of its fun factor.

What about you guys? What kind of budget are you looking at? What games are you on the fence about? What are you for sure purchasing? Go!

Today’s WTF: Splinter Cell Conviction Has No Night Vision

scconvictionOk, I hate to sound the “WTF” alarm for just anything these days, given the rather easy-to-upset gaming community at large, but this article I read today kind of jumped out at me. As some of you know, one of my most anticipated games for next year is Splinter Cell: Conviction. Chaos Theory still ranks among my favorite games of all time, and I’ve been waiting for a true sequel since then.

Well I might have to wait a little longer. While I’m largely OK with some of the additional gameplay mechanics that Ubisoft has added (the one-button executions, etc), something I read in an interview with the game’s creative director Max Beland disturbed me…

I crept through some dark areas as I worked my way into the building. Even in darkness, I did not need night vision to see, notably. In dark areas the game’s graphics become grainy, but the expected night-vision overlay doesn’t come into play. Beland doesn’t like green night-vision sequences in games and told me that Fisher’s goggles aren’t used for anything like that; just for sonar scans, which show enemy positions through walls.

Seriously? No night vision in a Splinter Cell game? I mean, call me crazy, but that just about throws the game off my radar. Looks like I might not get the proper return of the franchise that I wanted.

So what do you guys think? Am I overreacting to this? How would some of you guys feel if your favorite franchise was stripped of a staple of its gameplay?

Source- Kotaku

Capcom’s Inafune Gets Sour at TGS

With the Tokyo Game Show wrapping up, it’s a time for all the games journalists of the world to remember the awesome things they’ve seen, like Peace Walker and everything Final Fantasy. For others, it’s a time to bemoan the fall of the Japanese game industry. One such sour-puss is Capcom’s Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man and my personal favorite, Dead Rising.

Where others looked around the TGS show floor and saw hope for Japan’s flagging creative teams, Inafune saw only despair and darkness. Quoth the raven:

“Personally when I looked around [at] all the different games at the TGS floor, I said, ‘Man, Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished.'”

Harsh words, Mr. Inafune. While the games industry has kind of turned on its heel in the last decade or so, being predominantly a Western enterprise, I don’t really think that Japan is “finished”. Sure, they’re hitting a rough patch, but things will turn around. Right?

Of course, Inafune shouldn’t be taken at face value: he left Capcom out of the list of dismal failures of TGS ’09, and as Destructoid pointed out, avoided mentioning the irony of handing off Dead Rising 2 to a Western company (Canada-based Blue Castle Games).

The decline of the Japanese game industry has been a hot button issue for a while, but I think this is the first time that anyone from inside the the industry has come out and said that we’re looking at the end. What do you guys think? Is Mr. Inafune exaggerating, or will we see the end of Japanese-made games in our lifetime?

Source: 1up

Dead Rising 2 TGS: Let’s Shotgun Party!

One game that was disappointingly absent from E3 was Dead Rising 2, Capcom’s sequel to the surprise zombie killing hit of 2006. I loved the first game to death, and I collected almost every achievement obsessively for a while. The 5 and 7 day survivor achievements will forever sit atop my stack of shame.

Anyways, you didn’t come there to read me moaning about a couple of achievements, you came here to see Dead Rising 2’s weapons combination mechanics in action! If you ever thought that a shotgun desperately needed a bayonet that looked more like a pitchfork, you’re in luck. Check out this video of the protagonist giving it to zombies all redneck style.

The game-play looks a little rough (I’d hazard a guess at Alpha), but it looks like it’s progressing nicely. The trailer out of TGS reveals that the main character is not a motocross star as previously thought, but a zombie gladiator! I’m salivating like a mad dog for this game, but I want to know what you guys think! Who else wants to rip it up cage match with style with the undead?

GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

Wow, it’s been quite a while since we’ve been graced with the presence of a Would You Rather. In fact, nearly half a year! So, before the salvo of new Fall titles drop, let’s give it another shot.

In Would You Rather, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

Don’t let your answers suck, though. You will be excommunicated and labeled with some kind of vulgar name. Believe it.

Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

TGS: Final Fantasy XIV Trailer

Malboros! I know Final Fantasy XIII still isn’t out yet, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have trailers for Final Fantasy XIV, the new MMO (maybe) entry into the series. While Final Fantasy XI never really did it for me, something about the art and the presentation of what I’ve seen so far for FF XIV have been striking.

This new FFXIV trailer straight from TGS only solidifies this position for me. Unless I’m wrong, am I spotting a hint about air and sea battles? Sign me up.

Thoughts on a One Console Future

one-consoleA lot has been made recently over the recent (and supposedly untrue rumor) that Microsoft may purchase Electronic Arts. Even though this rumor appears to be false, it does bring up some valid questions, and ones that got Anthony and I engaged in a ripping e-mail debate this morning.

As most debates go, it ended with us making various claims about each other’s mothers, but before that there was some reasoned discussion going on. Anthony believes that a move like this could really hurt the video game industry on the whole, and potentially see the downfall of the other two giants (in this case Sony and Nintendo). My position is that while I agree that such a situation might occur, we are reaching a point where a one-console future could and probably will be a reality, it’s just a matter of who goes the way of Sega first.

So, what do you guys think about this idea? Would you push away the idea of a one console future, or welcome it? To me, we are already on our way there, seeing as how there are fewer and fewer exclusive titles to separate the systems out anyway. Go!

TGS: New Last Guardian Footage

TGS 2009 is going on right now in Tokyo, and with it comes lots of new information from all those lovable Japanese developers. Why, we’ve had some new previews from MGS: Peace Walker, FFXIII and FXIV, and then some. But the thing that interested me the most was some new footage of Team Ico’s new game, The Last Guardian.

I just can’t get enough of this hippogriff thing. The gameplay looks intriguing, and the art design is just gorgeous. Who else is dying for this game?

More Like PSP No! Retailers Boycott the Hand-held.

pspno
I should be hung for that title, but I couldn’t resist. It seems that the gaming industry is trying on its big-boy pants lately, what with all the high falutin boycotts going on. Usually we see consumers getting up in arms about the alleged unfairness of some crazy rip-off or another, but this time around we’ve got actual stores joining in on the fun.

The PSP go, a recently announced upgrade for Sony’s base portable model, is being met with a hostile reception by several retailers in Eruope, with the Australian branch of EB Games being rumored as a potential party. Dutch game shop chain Nedgame alleges that the portable is too expensive to bother stocking in addition to being miffed about the lack of UMD support on the gizmo. According to the store’s official statement, the lack of actual discs for sale robs the chain of its main source of profit on game sales: the mark-up on prices. The PSP go uses media which is exclusively available from the PlayStation Network, so I’d imagine that being the middle-man in this exchange would rankle a bit.

One small chain of stores refusing to stock a product is one thing, but once a big company joins the party it’s a whole different kettle of fish. What do you guys think? Is this the first step in stores really lashing back at downloadable content? Where can this go from here, and do you think that the stores are taking the right approach with this?

Source: Kotaku

Who’s Getting Ready to Drop?

halo3odstAs many of you devoted Halo-ites know, we are mere hours away from the launch (or should I be cheesy and say drop again?) of Halo 3: ODST in stores all along these American shores. Though you east coasters won’t see it for another hour or so and the rest of us have to wait even longer than that, I’m sure the anticipation is already pretty high for another Halo title release.

I have to admit, I was trying to avoid the Halo fever this time around, but starting about two weeks ago, I once again got caught up in the hype train. It was completely inevitable. The thing that really sold me on the game has to be the 4 player co-op story play as well as the Firefight mode, reminiscent of Horde mode from Gears of War 2. I’m hoping to attend the midnight launch in just a couple of hours. And if I can’t do that, then I’ll pick it up tomorrow after work.

So- which of you guys is planning on getting the game, too? Go!

All Points Bulletin Trailer Hits the Streets

Have you been wondering what Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds has been doing since 2007 when their game launched? Well, wonder no more as you absorb the awesome trailer for All Points Bulletin (APB), a free-to-play MMO. It looks a lot like GTA IV multi-player, and as long as they can get it to be a lot more stable than that I think we’ve got a hit on our hands.

In APB, you can join one of two sides, the Enforcers or the Criminals. Once you’ve chosen your side, you can fully customize your own gang and roam around the city with friends hitting fools with you car. The shooting looks pretty tight as well, and I’m very intrigued by the option to recreate the look of the Beastie Boys out of their “Sabotage” video and rip around the streets.

APB is set to debut on both the PC and the 360 in March 2010. Given that Crackdown was a huge sleeper hit, I think that there’s going to be a large player base when this game comes out. Who’s going to be giving APB a try, and on what platform?

GamerSushi Reviews: Quick Hits

quick-hitsWe play lots of games here around GamerSushi. So many, in fact, that there’s not possibly time to write reviews for all of them. While we would love to give some in-depth analysis of every title that graces our screens, we just don’t always get a chance to.

So, rather than neglect this bunch of titles, and make way for the deluge of blockbuster games that are about to appear on the queue, Mitch, Anthony and I decided to give you guys a new feature called Quick Hits.

What are Quick Hits? Quick Hits are fast and to-the-point reviews of several titles we’ve played recently, machine gunner style. Feel free to discuss the games at article’s end, and let us know what you think of them.
Continue reading GamerSushi Reviews: Quick Hits

GamerSushi Asks: Beating the Game?

prototypeOne thing that I’ve gotten really bad at in recent years is beating a game. I used to beat nearly every game I played, no matter its quality or length, including all the crazy JRPGs that I used to power through in college. Part of the reason I don’t seem to do this anymore is that as I get busier, my free time is a lot more valuable, and I don’t want to spend it playing a game that starts to feel like a chore.

That being said, I’ve made it a point to beat a few games that have been sitting on my docket recently, such as finishing Halo Wars on co-op mode, Shadow Complex and the Secret of Monkey Island. I have to say, I was really surprised at how satisfied I felt to beat a few games in a row, and it made me realize just how few games I seem to beat these days. Just this week I gave up on Prototype after getting tired of the repetitive missions.

So it made me wonder, do you guys do this too? What’s the last game that you guys have beaten, and what games have you given up on lately? Go!

Ready to Get BrĂ¼tal?

Are you prepared for Rocktober, the most heavy metal month of the year? If you are, brace yourselves for the opening six minutes of the Jack Black-starring, Tim Schafer-produced BrĂ¼tal Legend, a journey through the most raging of fantasy worlds! No doubt you’ve already heard about some of the voice stars in this game-which includes Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister and Tim Curry-and you’ve probably heard about the various legal troubles that the game has had, what with Activision being a vicious font of evil and all that. Anyways, check out the video, which feature some awful “music”, surprisingly sober voice acting by Black, and a giant monster that reminds me of Mannoroth from Warcraft III.

So, who’s picking this up? October’s a packed month as far as releases go, but I’m making room for a little BrĂ¼tal Legend on my calendar.

Assassin’s Creed II and the Developer Dialogue

Assassin's CreedIt’s often gratifying as a gamer to hear that developers do listen to the complaints we have against their games. As small as we can sometimes feel against the pull of design committees, release dates and budget crunches, having a developer say that he’s heard our opinions and is taking them into serious consideration feels like a victory well deserved.

One of the games that has come out in the past couple of years that has seen the most amount of griping by the community at large is Assassin’s Creed. While the game found almost universal acceptance among its players, there were still a few points of contention which people felt needed to be addressed for the inevitable sequel. Things like the repetitive nature of the side missions and the over-all sameness of the actual assassinations were among the biggest criticisms raised against the game.

This is where the conversation with the game’s developer springs up. It’s not as literal as sitting down at a table with the design staff and reading off a list of grievances and what you would have done differently, but it can sometimes have the same effect. The best part is that when developers listen and change things, they’ll sometimes try to get us to differ our views by making us take a harder look at the tropes we’ve come to expect from games.

Continue reading Assassin’s Creed II and the Developer Dialogue

3D Dot Game Heroes is 3 Degrees of Awesome

So what happens when you create a role-playing game in the vein of old school pixelated JRPG’s… only you build it in 3D out of blocks? Why, you get 3D Dot Gamer Heroes, a PS3 exclusive coming out later this year in Japan. I have no idea if/when this game is coming out in the US, but please, for the love of all things holy, I can has?

Tell me that this trailer doesn’t make you nostalgic for games long forgotten. I dare you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UvYWMSRAVo[/youtube]

Meet the Team: Borderlands

If there’s one game coming out this holiday that has style leaking out of its cel-shaded ears, it’s Borderlands. In this new trailer for the upcoming FPS-RPG, we’re introduced to the various characters that we’ll be controlling as we explore the wasteland looking for sweet guns. There’s plenty of gory game-play (censored to tantalize you) and awesome music packed into this video, so check it out.

Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford, notable for being slightly outspoken about his games, has said that he thinks Borderlands has the moxie to stand up to the big dogs this Christmas, and based on this trailer, he might be right. We’ve looked at this game before at GamerSushi, but I just couldn’t pass up sharing this trailer with you guys. I’m picking this up on PC for sure.