This isn’t game-related or anything, but these guys put on a good show and are worth listening to. Check ‘em out.

- Nathan

Posted on July 31st, 2007 by Nathan
Filed under: Commentary, Personal Blog | No Comments »

That’s right, I’m reviewing a game that’s been out for 6 months or so. I’m behind the curve. But now that I’m caught up, I find it difficult to continue to pretend that the PC is a serious gaming platform: Gears of War is the best first-person-shooter available anywhere for any platform. Okay, technically much of the game is 3rd person, but if you want to ever hit anything you have to hold down the left trigger to go into aiming mode, which is first person. So shooting is still first-person. First-Person Shooter.

The game itself is gorgeous, rivaling anything else I’ve ever played. The art-direction is pretty much generic Warhammer 40k/gothic sci-fi, but they’ve got this slightly washed-out look that makes it look lovely. Blood effects are gory and satisfying. When you run, the camera lowers to follow your character, as though being carried by a photojournalist who’s trying not to get shot. When you decide that what you really want is to attack a bad-guy with a chainsaw, the camera moves to an optimal angle, and the lens gets spattered with blood. Did I mention this was an M-rated game? It deserves it.

The big innovation in gameplay is the cover mechanic: Every corner and every obstacle is something that you can hide behind. The context-sensitive A-button allows several “cover moves”, that let you jump to other cover spots, or to charge into the action (perhaps for some chainsaw action). Enemies use cover as well, making a set-piece feel more like a tactical battle and less like a shooting gallery. The typical goal is to use a teammate to keep the AI distracted with covering fire, while you move to a flanking position to get a clear shot. It adds a more thoughtful layer to the game that you otherwise only see in multiplayer shooters like the Battlefield games.

The game’s taken the damage model from Halo: An on-screen indicator shows you when you’re about to die. Hide out for a while, and you’ll recover. Finally, developers are getting away from the “medpack” convention of recovery. Ammo still lies around on the floor randomly, maybe someone will fix that soon, too.

While the headline above reads “single-player”, I need to praise the online cooperative mode. It plays the same as the regular single-player campaign, except that one of your squadmates is a person. Playing online with a friend was a snap: I told it to, “host a cooperative game”, went to my friends list, and invited one of them. 10 seconds later, we were watching the opening cutscene. Super-intuitive, and the reason to break down and pay a subscription fee for XBox Live Gold. (At least, I don’t think you can do that with Silver. Microsoft licensing is a headache even in gaming.)

So yeah, Gears of War. Check it out if you like shooting games. It’s a peek at the future of AAA gaming.

Posted on July 29th, 2007 by Nathan
Filed under: Commentary | No Comments »

I’ve had this beast for FIVE WHOLE DAYS now. Here’s my super quick and dirty reviews of the games I’ve played for it.

Forza 2

Tweak a car and drive fast in it. This came with the bundle I bought, and I probably should have passed. It seems like a good game, but I don’t think it’s quite my thing.

Gears of War

Fancy! Looks lovely, has some unique tactical shooting gameplay. Run! Hide behind cover! Pop out of cover to shoot things! Enjoy wearing huge shoulderpads! Also, it’s quite difficult, even on the easy setting. Maybe I just suck at console-based shooters.

Pac Man: Championship Edition

It’s fucking Pac-Man. You’ll already know if you want to play this or not.

Catan

Very cool. Pick it up and play with some random people. Make trades throughout the whole game without having to hear anyone say “I have wood for sheep”.

Carcassone

It’s fun to play with the tiles in the regular board game, but the automatic scoring in the online version makes this one pretty awesome.

Uno

Just as pointless online as in real-life. But I haven’t played with all the house rules yet, so maybe there’s a version of this that’s good.

Bomberman Live

It’s BOMBERMAN! ONLINE! With up to 8 people in a match, this kicks all kinds of ass. Lag can make things go a little weird, but it doesn’t seem game-breaking.

Should anyone want to play me, my gamertag is “Nate Scarylemon”

Posted on July 20th, 2007 by Nathan
Filed under: Commentary | No Comments »

I’m sure you’re all as fascinated by this as I am, so here’s the brochure for Sopranos pinball.

This one is for Vince.

Posted on July 15th, 2007 by Nathan
Filed under: Personal Blog | 2 Comments »