Category: multiplayer

Halo Reach’s Matchmaking System Puts You in Your Place

halo reach
When you think of Halo, I bet the first though that comes to mind is the multiplayer. While the Halo games have always had a good campaign mode (personal interpretation, here), it’s the online chaos that have drawn people to the games, and Bungie’s up-coming Halo: Reach looks to improve on what has come before. In a recent sit-down with Shacknews, Bungie Studios gave an in-depth look at the ranking system for the sci-fi FPS.

A lot of changes have been made under the hood for Reach, and the plan is to make it more accessible than Halo 3’s system was. While the friend’s list in Halo 3 was obtuse at best, Reach’s new friends interface, called Active Roster, is being made to fix some of the problems inherit with the previous model. It’s omnipresent throughout all of Reach’s menus, and it provides you with real-time updates on all of your friends and what they’re currently doing in Reach. Part of the overhaul is the “queue” option, where you can wait to join your friends automatically once they leave their current game, instead of having to do the complicated rigmarole of repeated invites and lobby joining.
Continue reading Halo Reach’s Matchmaking System Puts You in Your Place

Review: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

battlefield bad company 2 review

Swedish developer DICE has long been the master of online warfare, their lineage of creating excellent multiplayer experiences extending back to 2002’s Battlefield 1942. Even though DICE has a bunch of award winning frag-fests tucked under their caps, their games have always lacked a solo outing outside of throwing a bunch of computer-controlled grunts at someone and calling it “single-player”. DICE’s first foray into the setup of a solitary campaign came with 2007’s Bad Company, the second DICE game on current generation consoles and the first one with a single player portion.

The tone of the game was humorous, and it wedged the story into the huge open maps that the series is known for. The multiplayer was lauded, but then again, that’s a given with DICE. What Bad Company did prove is that they can make single players games, but it was in need of some refinement. Two years later, we’ve got a sequel and it aims to take back the crown of “First Person Shooter King”. What did DICE do differently this time around?
Continue reading Review: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Brink Trailer Wants to Catch You Rolling

Brink is a title I’ve had my eye on for quite a while, but there’s been surprisingly few trailers for the upcoming First Person Shooter/free-running game. It’s got all the things I love about current generation shooters: persistent stats, customizable characters, and co-op. The game features something called SMART, which stands for Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. Check out an example of that in the trailer:

It looks like pre-rendered stuff, but it’s a good example of the game’s art direction. Does this pique your interest? If you do pick it up, which platform will it be for?

Chaos Rising Trailer is a Bloody Good Time

While I’ve been known to bemoan the stripping down of traditional Real Time Strategy mechanics, there’s one game that goes about it the right way: Dawn of War II by Relic. You may know Relic for their previous excellent strategy games like the original Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. While you needed a PC of the most beefy variety to play CoH, there’s no denying that it had some of the most dynamic game-play I’ve ever seen in a strategy title. Dawn of War took that and refined it a little more, focusing completely on unit manipulation in the field. A lot of upcoming RTSes purport that they want you to feel “attached” to your cannon fodder, but DoW2 comes the closest. A new expansion came out recently, and it’s been getting some rave reviews. Check out the trailer, heretics.

Has anyone else tried this game yet? If so, what did you think of the original, and do you miss the battlefields covered in carpets of slain Orks? Are you going to pick this expansion up? Just for extra nerd cred, who here paints Warhammer figurines? I have a few painted myself.

What is With All the Streamlining?

supreme commander
While Bad Company 2 was released last week on March 2, another sequel that I was greatly anticipating came out that day as well: Supreme Commander 2, the follow up to 2007’s large-scale strategy title. I’d been hearing mumblings going into its release that it was going to eschew the heavy system requirements necessary to render the huge battlefields of the previous game, but I doubted that Gas Powered Games was going to stray too far from the formula of the original. After all, there’s something unique and cathartic about building up a huge base, stocking it with top tier defense guns and shields, then pummeling the enemy’s fortifications with a gigantic navy. The game had a charm that could only come from a prohibitive resource management system, but I loved it all the same.

Now that I’ve had a chance to play Supreme Commander 2 a bit, I can’t help but notice how severely pared down it is from its original inception. I wonder when I became vogue to start taking formerly complicated games and trimming all of the fat off of them. While this trend has been seeing movement for a while, there is another recent example of a game series that started off as bloated with genre tropes as you can possibly get then got whittled down to the bare essentials: Mass Effect. Like I mentioned in my recent post about the upcoming DLC, I’ve been playing the original and the differences in the inventory and level management system are staggering. The same thing is true with Supreme Commander in that there are no more tech trees and the unit upgrades are managed through a simple interface as opposed to a constant advancement of technology.
Continue reading What is With All the Streamlining?

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

Battlefield Bad Company 2We’ve repeated it so many times, but I think it can’t be overstated: the amount of great games we’re getting so far this early in 2010 (with more still to come) is simply staggering. Already we’ve played a game of the year candidate in Mass Effect 2, seen some stuff we’ve never seen before in Heavy Rain, and soon will be revisited by an old friend in Final Fantasy XIII. Oh, and that’s not to mention the Resident Evil 5 DLC (second pack released last week), Crackdown 2 (coming this summer), Splinter Cell: Conviction or the newly released Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Speaking of DICE’s new game, that’s what I’ve been playing a good bit of this week, in addition to Heavy Rain as well as Tropico 3. If you’re curious, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a fantastic multiplayer game, and even has a fairly decent single player game, from what I’ve experienced. I’ve been up late a few nights playing some epic multiplayer matches. Something that’s become obvious to me is that I simply love Battlefield’s multiplayer format. I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or simple that its layout is just better than many other games, but whatever it is, it hits me in that special place.

So what about you guys? What are you playing lately? Go!

Halo Multiplayer Trailer Reaches for the Sky With Jetpacks

It’s a real shame that May 3rd is so far away, because watching this multiplayer trailer for Halo: Reach makes me pine for some Halo-flavored action. Actually, that’s not the best way to phrase it because Reach takes what the previous Halos did then mashes it up with Red Faction: Guerrilla (jetpacks) and Call of Duty (loadouts). The prior Halos were good times in multiplayer, but this trailer makes it look like Bungie took their game, as one aging rockstar said, “to eleven.” Have a peek:

Is that some hot stuff or what? Anyone else starting to feel the return of the dreaded but oh-so-sweet Halo hype? This is almost enough for me to forgive the franchise for Legends. What do you guys think about the trailer?

Activision Goes All Order 66 on Infinity Ward

order66
Almost five months after releasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a smash hit with sales numbering in excess of a billion dollars, a wave of shady goings-on and innuendo has blanketed Infinity Ward, resulting in the layoffs of two senior members, namely Vince Zampella and Jason West. For those who are unfamiliar with the pair, these two are the head honchos at Infinity Ward, so these are some startling developments indeed.

It all started yesterday with IW’s bosses heading for a meeting with Activision CEO Bobby Kotick. Zampella and West went MIA after the meeting and a bunch of “bouncer”-types showed up outside the IW offices creating a “tense situation”. Although the security personnel would not disclose why they had rolled up on IW’s office building, this did not stop the internet’s unofficial band of sleuths from digging through Linked-In, a job-history database. Vince Zampella has changed his profile to reflect his new employment status with his tenure as Infinity Ward’s CEO clearly represented in the past tense.
Continue reading Activision Goes All Order 66 on Infinity Ward

What Do Bad Company 2 and Mass Effect 2 Have in Common?

bad company 2
If you first answer is “the number two”, then you’re only half correct. The other thing these two sequels have in common is that they’re both playing host to EA’s new online initiative which asserts that all major forthcoming releases will have heavy back-end support and a lot of additional content available post-launch. Just as purchasers of brand new copies of Mass Effect 2 obtained a Cerberus Network Card which gave them access to free day one DLC, customers who buy unused copies of Bad Company 2 will receive a VIP code that will offer up a couple exclusive multiplayer maps. If you buy a used copy then you can still gain access to these promotions, you just have to pay around $15 dollars first.

By 2011, EA expects that all of its games will have an online component and this is a major step in the company’s efforts to combat both piracy and the used game market. By making the bonus content available to paying consumers, it keeps those of us with weaker scruples out of PC matchmaking (at least for a little while), and it also provides additional incentive to drop $60 on a title, a little extra enticement which is beneficial in these trying time.

I for one applaud this movement, but how do you guys feel? Now that DLC and online support is becoming more and more popular, should companies attempt to assert their monopoly? While publishers have a right to protect their games, do you feel that shunning the used game market is the right way to go about it? Let us know how you feel!

Source: The Escapist

Halo: Reach ViDoc Prepped for Combat Insertion

Microsoft’s X10 event wrapped up yesterday, and what a day it was for casual fans and X-Bots alike. Long-coming psychological thriller Alan Wake actually has a release date, and Crackdown 2 is looking very fine in my opinion. The only real disappointment to come out of X10 was the rough-looking trailer for Dead Rising 2, which tempered my excitement for the zombie-slaying sequel a bit. The best news to come out of X10, though, was the announcement of the date for the Halo: Reach beta! Slated for May 3, this beta may be a bit far away but I’m sure that Bungie has some excellent treats to keep the rabid fans sated for a while, like the following ViDoc.

This documentary, even though it’s full of Alpha footage and concept art, has me ridiculously excited for this game. Honestly, when the video gives you a comparison of the graphical changes of the Marine and assault rifle models from Halo 3 to Reach, it’s enough to warm my jaded heart. What do you guys think? Can Bungie finally pull off a more human Halo story? Who else is getting this game?

Get Your Games in Now: Original X-Box Losing LIVE Support

xbox
It seems like the end of an era somehow, but as the current generation pushes into the future it had to happen. Microsoft announced their plans to discontinue support for the original X-Box on LIVE today, and that includes playing backwards compatible games online on the 360. X-Box LIVE general manager Marc Whitten explains this move as necessary to facilitate the continued evolution of LIVE as a service, but I’m sure that more than a few people will be disappointed with this action. Microsoft has continually stated that the furtherance of original X-Box games have been holding up certain LIVE features on the 360 such as raising the friend list cap to 100 Gamertags.

While the official press release does do a lot to trumpet the Microsoft horn, it’s good to see that the LIVE team is taking steps to make sure that those who will be adversely affected by this move are being taken care of. Users who are still subscribed to the base LIVE service will receive prorated refunds, and Mr. Whitten had this to say about those being left behind:

“We will contact the X-Box LIVE members directly impacted by this change and if this includes you, I encourage you to check your LIVE messages and associated e-mail account over the coming weeks for more details and opportunities. We view you as a partner in this process.”

Interesting developments indeed, but what innovations are coming to LIVE that required this change? Who here is going to get in a few more games before the serivce gets axed on April 15? Just for kicks, what were your favorite original X-Box games to play online? Halo 2 was a good one, obviously, but who played Crimson Skies? Oh yeah, have you heard that XBL Arcade crested a hundred million in sales last year?

Source: Major Nelson and X-Box 360 Press

AvP Trailer Proves That Survival is the New Deathmatch

I’m sure that most of us played Goldeneye 007 for the N64 back in our heyday and the majority of that time was spent slotting our friends in the Deathmatch mode. In almost every subsequent game, developers have tried to shoe-horn in a competitive match whether the title needed it or not, mostly based on the popularity of 007’s multiplayer. With the success of games like Left 4 Dead and Gears of War’s Horde Mode, it seems that four-player co-op survival against overwhelming odds is the new mode du jour. The thing is, with the Aliens versus Predator setting, it really, really works. Huddling in a corner with three buddies while the motion tracker makes its incessant beeping showing the xenomorph hordes getting closer and closer…should make for some entertaining games, to say the least. Take a look:

Most of us are still the in throes of Mass Effect 2 addiction, but who thinks that this game might derail them from that most epic of sci-fi RPGs? I think this and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 are strong contenders in that regard. Tell us your thoughts!

The Internet is an Evil Place: Battlefront Sequel Rumors Persist

evilobi
The Star Wars: Battlefront franchise has had a strange and tortured history for a product that should be a no-brainer. You take the famous space and ground battles of the Star Wars universe, mash them together with Battlefield style game-play and let the players muck around as Jedi once in a while. Well, after forcing the famous conflicts of Star Wars onto the tiny screen of the PSP not once but twice, the hotly anticipated third iteration of the sci-fi combat series has hit wall after wall, going through multiple studios like a hot knife through butter.

Originally being tinkered with by Free Radical before they closed down, Star Wars Battlefront: III has shifted gears completely, now rumored to be titled Star Wars Battlefront: Online. The current developers are none other than SOCOM Confrontation makers Slant Six Games. As it stands right now, the title is in pre-production, so it may be canceled before we hear anything more about it. The current plan is to have it in presentable form by 2011, but given the unfortunate history of Battlefront III, I’m not getting my hopes up.

What do you guys think? The Battlefront series has always been a favorite of mine, and the space combat in the second game was a heck of a lot of fun. It’s sad to think that Battlefront: Online may become the next “Duke Nukem”, forced to spend eternity in pre-production while we get strung along with concept art and teaser videos. Who else is hoping for some more Star Wars action?

Source: Kotaku

What The? Gears of War in Lost Planet 2?

As far as video game cross-overs go, we’ve seen some great ones (Marvel vs Capcom 2) and some not so great ones (Spawn in Soul Caliber). This new promo for the X-Box 360 version of Lost Planet 2, I just can’t place. On one hand, Marcus and Dom have had a lot of experience slaughtering strange abominations of nature; on the other, putting two characters from an exclusive Microsoft game in a Capcom multi-platform title seems odd. One wonders who the PS3 purchasers will get as bonus characters.

Consider me officially intrigued, though. I tried the original Lost Planet but couldn’t really get into it, though I’ve always felt that the title may have some merit. What do you guys think? Worth a purchase, or more of a rental? Who do you think the PS3 owners will get, if anyone?

GamerSushi Game Night Part Two: Halo for Haiti

haloforhaiti
There’s been a huge outpouring of support for Haiti from all over the world, but the Caribbean nation is still a disaster zone and more help is needed. For those of us who can’t contribute directly, Bungie Studios, makers of the hugely successful Halo series, is holding a charity where they will donate $100 per every thousand players on Wednesday January 20 and Thursday January 21.

Bungie is hoping to raise over $77,000 dollars, and we here at GamerSushi think that playing some Halo is a great way to assist in this noble cause. On Thursday January 21, we’re having another Halo 3 game night to benefit the humanitarian efforts in Haiti. It’s simple: all you have to do is log onto X-Box LIVE bearing a specific emblem (directions contained within this link) and your contribution will be counted.

Same deal as last time, Eddy (Pwnocchio) and myself (Lubeius) will be sending out invites at 7:30 pm CST (check your time zone here) so leave your Gamertag in the comments below. News about PC and PS3 Game Nights forthcoming, so don’t think we’ve forgotten about you!

What Were the Top 20 Most Played 360 Games of ’09?

LIVE
We’ve got one more top something of 2009 list for you, but this time it’s a little different as it’s not some publication doling out their “best-of” awards, but rather a unique compilation decided entirely by you the player. Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb recently posted the chart-topping games of 2009 as tracked by X-Box LIVE, and it may surprise you to learn that Halo 3 has once again taken the top spot three years running with Call of Duty 4 riding its coat-tails and Modern Warfare 2 in third.

I know you’re going to say that MW2 was only released on November 11 of this year, and I’m sure that future metrics will show the widely acclaimed First-Person-Shooter rocketing into the lead and leaving Bungie’s mean green machine in its dust. I just think it’s amazing that Halo 3 continues to lead the charts even though it’s beginning to get a bit long in the tooth. If it’s any consolation, Call of Duty titles fill out the remainder of the top four.

The charts also list the most popular Arcade titles (Battlefield 1943) and the most-played original X-Box titles (Halo 2). How do you think 2010 is going to break down? My bet is MW2 will clinch the top spot then fight with Bad Company 2 until Reach comes out.

Source: Major Nelson

Geek Out Over Early Halo: Reach Scans

reach
Like it or lump it, there’s no denying that one of 2010’s biggest titles will be Halo: Reach, Bungie’s (supposed) final game in the Halo series. The next issue of Game Informer was confirmed last week to include a bunch of new information on the upcoming sci-fi shooter, and some kind soul has seen fit to scan an advanced copy onto the internet. The scans are fairly clear considering that they’re straight off a magazine, and I have to say that the game is looking sharp. The infamous “ugly-people” produced by the Halo 3 engine are gone, and the marines in Reach look like actual futuristic grunts as opposed to cartoon characters. Speaking of Grunts, the Covenant species have been given a face-lift and there’s one new type of enemy confirmed, a Jackal look-alike of some sorts.

The article expands upon the setting and the various characters and there’s a lot of info for Halo canon nerds (like myself) to obsess over. Go check out the scans and tell us you thoughts!

Source: All Games Beta

Splinter Cell Conviction Co-Op and Deniable Ops Gameplay

Wow. You all know of my mega-boners that I get for Splinter Cell. Specifically, co-operative play in the Splinter Cell franchise is something that I will go off on a rant about, because of how much I loved the mode in Chaos Theory. Well, they’re bringing the mode back in Splinter Cell: Conviction, and I couldn’t be happier.

Up until now, all we’d gotten to see was a slick trailer for the mode. Now, though, we’re getting to see honest-to-goodness footage of the co-operative mode, in addition to Deniable Ops, which is more of an adversarial multiplayer in some ways. The coolest mode from Deniable Ops seems to be the “Spy vs Spy” gametype, where two players showdown in the midst of hostile enemy AI guards. The thought of that makes me a tad crazy, in the best way possible. Anyway, check out the new video and leave your thoughts.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is out on February 23rd, 2010. Anybody else jumping on this?

Army of Two Multiplayer Trailer Brings the Co-Op

Army of Two: The 40th Day (or Total Fistbump Destruction, as it is also known) is set to be released on January 12 and fulfill our need for bromantic private miliatry company action. While the original co-op shooter fell a little short of its goal to build a competent “you and a buddy against the world” experience, the sequel seems on track to match up to the promises of the original, something that seems to be a deepening trend in the games industry.

The multiplayer for AoT: TFD has the same flavor to it as several two-man teams of colorfully dressed mercenaries battle it out over various objectives. I’m interested to see how the game makes use of the small teams and how the fire-fights will play out because, more likely than not, you’re going to be facing off against two friends who know how to work together instead of a bunch of random people from matchmaking. I’m definitely giving this game a shot when it comes out, so who’s with me? Is Army of Two on your Q1 purchase list, or are there other games that are getting your money?

Upcoming StarCraft Release Features Protoss “Mini-Campaign”

protoss
As we all know, the various species of the StarCraft universe will be getting their own complete campaign spread across three separate titles that will fully comprise StarCraft II. With the Terran campaign “Wings of Liberty” set for release sometime this year (hopefully), we all assumed that we’d have to wait until 2011 or later to play as the Protoss, but this may not be the case.

A Blizzard Community Team member confirmed on the official Battle.Net forums that the psychic aliens will get a small campaign separate from the Terran missions in StarCraft II. The Protoss portion of “Wings” is expected to be much shorter than the Terran sections and will only feature a small sampling of units and buildings, so it doesn’t exactly set one up for multiplayer. The main purpose of the mini-campaign is to break up the pacing and add a little variety to the single player offering.

What are your opinions on this new development in the seemingly never-ending stream of pre-release StarCraft news? It’s great that Blizzard continues to add new features to the game (even when they take essential ones out), but I’m of the opinion that StarCraft II needs to hit in 2010 or the sci-fi RTS will take a major hurting in the PR department. How do you guys feel, though? Is StarCraft II going to be worth the wait, and are you going to pick it up?

Source: Kotaku