Many people joke about something called “Valve Time”, an imperceptible chronological measurement visible only to the revered developers themselves. Games of all sorts, even episodic content, seem to take forever to be released, but they are always of the highest quality. The original Left 4 Dead was also subject to the whims of Valve’s crazed machinations; it suffered delay after delay before finally being released to a heap of praise. Now, after only a year, the beloved zombie-killing co-op extravaganza has gotten a sequel. With such a short turn-around time between the original, is a year enough time for Valve to work their magic?
Continue reading Review: Left 4 Dead 2
Category: PC
DeLorean in Crysis = Awesome
Crysis was an underappreciated gem, in my opinion, and one of the most endearing facets of this game was that it was fairly easy to mod. During my time with Crytek’s military sci-fi shooter, I saw some pretty neat stuff, but nothing that could combine my love of video gaming with one of my favorite movies. Today, I finally get my wish. Check out the following video which features a DeLorean in Crysis. Does it travel through time? Maybe. You’ll have to find out.
1.21 Gigawatts?!
Today’s WTF: Amazing MW2 Knife Throw
One of the things I’m enjoying about Modern Warfare 2 is the final kill cam, which shows everyone the way the last dude in the match got owned. While I’ve seen my fair share over the last week, none of them come even close to being as awesome as this video. You need to see this to believe it.
Who’s Getting Left 4 Dead 2 or Assassin’s Creed 2?
Though they might have been slightly overshadowed by the walking titan we know as Modern Warfare 2, two rather large games are making their presence known this week. One of them is a title that has had some silly controversy around it, and another is a sequel to a less than stellar but promising original IP that might turn into something more. I’m speaking of Left 4 Dead 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2, of course.
While I’m not one of the boycotters for L4D2, I still don’t have much desire to pick it up at all. I kind of burned myself out on the zombie slaying with the first game, so I’m having trouble mustering up enough gumption to go out and buy the thing. And while I was one of the few who enjoyed Assassin’s Creed, the sequel doesn’t intrigue me all that much, though I’ll probably give it a rental.
So what about you guys? Who out there is getting either of these games?
Review: Modern Warfare 2
Ok, I won’t write a cheesy intro paragraph about Modern Warfare 2. You know what this game is. I won’t even make a statement about how you have to have been hiding under a rock to not know. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all familiar with this game, its controversies, and some of its more publicized info leading up to the epic launch this week. This is without a doubt the biggest title to drop this year. So, with all of the hype, how did it stack up?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Launch Trailer
‘Nuff said, really. Check it out.
Wait, is that guy in space?
Waiting for Dragons
Tomorrow marks the release of Dragon Age: Origins and I honestly couldn’t be more excited. Through the recent release of the new Wheel of Time book, the Gathering Storm and Bioware’s new RPG tomorrow, I suddenly have a plethora of fantasy world experiencing to do.
I have to say that I’m a bit surprised by just how pumped I am for Dragon Age. It makes me realize just how long it’s been since I’ve played a really solid RPG. So far, the reviews are giving it great scores and my anticipation is at an all time high on the eve of release. I’m not sure what it is about a good RPG that gets my blood going, but whatever it is, Dragon Age has stoked that fire as well.
What about you guys? What game left on the holiday schedule are you jonesing for? And just for kicks, who else is in to fantasy? Got a favorite series?
Review: Borderlands
Shooter fans have been used to a very ridged structure in their games so far: you progress through levels, you shoot stuff, you move on. Sometimes you pick up different guns, but mostly it’s an aesthetic change than an actual improvement on your previous weapon, barring the rifle-bazooka trade-up.
What first person shooters haven’t had is the in-depth levelling and obsessive-compulsive stat manipulation of traditional RPGs. Enter Borderlands, a first person role-playing shooter from Gearbox, best known for the PC port of Halo and the Brothers in Arms series. Set upon the dismal dust-ball of Pandora, Borderlands has the player choose one of four classes (Solider, Hunter, Tank or Siren) and starts them off on an adventure to find and open a mythical Vault full of alien weaponry.
Continue reading Review: Borderlands
Bioshock 2 Story Interview
Even though I appreciated Bioshock’s quality in terms of its immersiveness and story, I just didn’t go quite as crazy about it as everyone else did. I didn’t dislike the game, it just didn’t hook me the way it seemed to for hundreds of thousands of other gamers out there. I keep thinking I want to pick it up and finish it one day, but the sequel so far hasn’t gotten me all that excited either.
However, I do have to say that it seems that they’re really putting a lot of thought into the game’s universe and how it ticks, which is starting to perk my interest a little. The newest developer interview sheds some more light on what the game’s about and who some of its new characters are. I’d suggest giving it a watch. What about you guys? What do you think about Bioshock 2?
Brink Developers Splash Damage Go Trolling
The future of PC gaming is something that comes up a lot among the enthusiasts, the media, and even developers. Is it dying, is it going to experience a resurgence, what’s going to happen to the PC? While there are some companies that seem to earn a living just fine by making high-quality PC titles (Valve and Blizzard come to mind), there are other companies that have moved over into console development to supplement their income.
Splash Damage head honcho Paul Wedgewood has a few words to say about PC exclusive development and how it’s no longer financially viable. He maintains that the budget is not there for triple-A quality PC titles which makes it hard to get high-end bonuses like a full orchestra and a rich voice cast. Considering that his studio originally started as a mod house which made “hardcore” multi-player maps for Quake and Wolfenstein, perhaps Mr. Wedgewood is in a better position to judge the future of PC-only development than most people.
Continue reading Brink Developers Splash Damage Go Trolling
Rumor: Modern Warfare 2 With a Third-Person Perspective?
Okay, I am thoroughly confused by this one. I’m a big supporter of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” game design method, so I’m a little puzzled as to why Infinity Ward thought that their upcoming blockbuster needed a third-person multi-player mode. The following video was taken off a live stream of someone in France (the big source for all leaks, apparently) showing off the supposed alternate view point for Modern Warfare 2. It certainly looks legit, but I’d wait until an official comment comes from Infinity Ward before going too crazy. I mean, those poor guys have enough problems as it is.
The video is of questionable quality, which is a natural consequence of recording off a live stream. It shows the action well enough, and it does look like MW2. The third-person modes in question appear to be Team Death Match and Cage Match, so I wouldn’t expect to see this camera option appear in the campaign or SpecOps. What do you guys think? True or fake, and is this a weird move for the series?
Edit: So, it looks like this is true. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling confirmed the existence of a couple third-person playlists, citing it as “another way to play”.
Source: Destructoid
G-Man Sings Body to Body, Oozes Sex Appeal
Put this one under the “weird but hilarious” category. This is a machinima music video by WAM Studios in which G-Man sings Body to Body by Jay-J. It was created with Half Life 2, lots of Faceposer and GMod.
The song is pretty much horrid, but the video rules because they re-created the original music video by Jay-J almost perfectly, only with G-Man and Alyx in the leading roles. Seeing G-Man act suave and sexy is worth the price of admission on this one. Be warned it has a few images that are more than likely NSFW, especially the original, which I recommend suffering at least a few seconds of in order to fully appreciate what was done here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1OMBJ9MZBc[/youtube]
GameCop Vs LameCop Vs PsychoCop
In the past, GameCop vs. LameCop has been a feature where Anthony and I argue about video game issues, playing the role of either the GameCop or the LameCop as we do so. However, with the addition of a new GamerSushi team member, we’ve added another more absurd character to the bunch: Psycho Cop.
If you’re unfamiliar with this feature, we discuss gaming issues and we switch roles each time. The GameCop has your best interests as gamers at heart, while the LameCop is just what he sounds like: kind of a lamewad. Meanwhile, PsychoCop is a crazed, rabid forum troll that rants like a complete lunatic.
In this week’s edition, we not-so-calmly debate Day 1 DLC and Modern Warfare 2’s erasure of dedicated servers.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Borderlands
OK, I’ll be the first to admit that we’re probably getting pretty close to the Borderlands saturation point around here, but this story was too good to pass up. Three weeks ago, Borderland’s Creative Director Mikey Neumann promised that he would play the post-apocalyptic Role-Playing-Shooter with you and drop some rare loot if you could provide a picture of yourself pre-ordering the game via Twitter. It turns out that this little boast kind of back-fired on him as over 200 people took him up on the offer.
Since Borderlands released last Tuesday, Mikey has been ploughing through his list trying to get through as many of the lucky players as he can. The game hasn’t even come out on PC yet (it lands on Monday), so I bet that he’s got a ways to go.
This strikes me as admirable, considering the few weeks after a major game launches is when most of the studio’s development team takes their vacations. Essentially, Mikey is giving up the beach to play some Borderlands with the fans, so kudos to you good sir.
Borderlands itself is doing quite well; it’s topping the Steam sales chart, beating even Left 4 Dead 2. Every retail store I’ve visited has been sold out, too, but this is due more to a shortage in shipped products (so the clerk at EB told me, anyways) than overwhelming demand.
I’m waiting for the PC version personally, but are any of you playing it on the 360 or PS3, and what do you think?
Source: Kotaku
Leaked Left 4 Dead 2 Trailer Hits the Internet
Valve has bad luck with leaked videos, don’t they? First Meet the Spy got leaked, and now the opening cinematic for Left 4 Dead 2 has been snuck onto the internet via some digital skulduggery. Like the original opening movie for Left 4 Dead, it introduces the player to a whole bunch of game mechanics (what the new infected do, melee weapons, that type of stuff), while wrapping it all in an entertainingly gruesome package. Take a gander:
Not looking so much like a simple expansion now, am I right? I’m greatly anticipating ripping into some zombies with a chainsaw myself, but what about you guys?
Mainstream’d! Bringing Borderlands to the Masses
God bless IGN, ya know? For all the flack that they take from the gaming enthusiasts, they can still surprise you sometimes, like with this excellent parody video of Gearbox’s CEO Randy Pitchford explaining Borderlands to some casual game testers. Hilarity ensues.
Keep your pimp hand strong, Randy. Keep it strong. Oh, if you’re watching in a public place, wear some headphones. Just to be safe.
Today’s WTF: No Dedicated Servers for Modern Warfare 2 on PC?
All hands on deck! The klaxon is sounding, and that means only one thing: someone has wrung the WTF bell! Here’s what’s got the internet in a tizzy now.
In a bit of breaking news yesterday, Infinity Ward’s Community Manager Robert Bowling confirmed the existence of IWNet, a PC Call of Duty matchmaking service which will change the landscape of multiplayer for Call of Duty fans. The only problem? There’s not going to be any dedicated servers.
Traditionally, PC gaming is handled through servers that are managed by the players, but IWNet is set to change all that. According to Bowling, this service runs concurrently with Steam, but is managed by Infinity Ward themselves. Since IWNet is eliminating dedicated servers, this means that clans, custom map-makers and all those other “hardcore” folks will not be able to enjoy the same range of freedom that they’re used to with private server ownership.
Continue reading Today’s WTF: No Dedicated Servers for Modern Warfare 2 on PC?
The Writing’s on the Wall: Splinter Cell in Action
Looks like Sam Fisher’s been taking a few lessons at the Batman School of Stealth, if this new video show-casing the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction is any indication. This new Splinter Cell seems a lot more focused on “blitzkrieg” style attacks, relying on brute force exercised with precision and speed rather than a considered approach.
It’s different from the Splinter Cell we know and love, certainly, but that’s not always a bad thing. I’m still looking forward to executing some punks Punisher-style when the game drops in February of next year, but I’m concerned that games like this may be sliding more towards an extended Quick Time Event than any semblance of actual freedom. Maybe I’m just paranoid.
But, as always, we want to know what you think! Does this new Splinter Cell seem like something that you’d want to pick up, or do the differences from past versions make you turn up your nose?
Dragon Age: Origins Sacred Ashes Trailer
If there was a technical term in the video game industry that was the equivalent of what it would be like to have mind boners, then this new trailer for Dragon Age: Origins comes dangerously close to producing this effect in me. It’s hard to necessarily quantify how badass this trailer is in words, so I’ll just let you guys do the watching. Needless to say, there are dragons in this fantasy game, and it’s something that’s been sorely missing from my favorite pastime.
Who else is getting this game on November 3rd? I’ll be first in line.
GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?
Happy Turkey Day to my fellow Canucks, and um, happy Columbus Day to my friends in the States. Seeing as how this is a nice long weekend, perfect for unwinding from the stresses of our daily lives, I thought it would be pertinent to do our monthly checkup on your gaming habits.
Personally, I had a nice zombie-themed day yesterday with a few of my friends, and just zoned out on Nazi Zombies and Left 4 Dead. To cap it all off, we checked out Zombieland, which gets two hearty thumbs up from me. Check it out if you like laughter…or gore.
Besides zombies, I picked up Operation: Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, and so far it’s really engaging. It’s a lot more “realistic” than, say, Call of Duty, which makes it perfect for my mood right now. I’ve only played an hour or so, and it’s got my hungry for more.
What about you guys, though? I know Uncharted 2 and BrĂĽtal Legend don’t come out until Tuesday (who was the genius that came up with releasing these games after a long weekend?), but I’m planning on picking them up anyways, following up with some Borderlands. Are you planning on getting any of these titles, and what’s in your box, station, or PC right now? Answer, or we shall make you play Wii shovel-ware from now until the release of the 2012 movie, which we will force you to watch. It will be torture unending.