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Thoughts On Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty
Sep 5th
Let me start off by saying that this post won’t be a review of Starcraft 2. The game has been out for a while now and if you google ‘Starcraft 2 review’ you’ll find dozens of thoroughly researched and expertly written analyses of the game. Instead I’m just going to write a bit about how I feel about the game, as I’ve heard a lot of people claim it’s the greatest realtime strategy offering of all time and others say it’s just a rehash of the original Starcraft. Now that I’ve fully experienced most aspects of the game I feel like I’m qualified to touch on what Starcraft 2 provides.
I can say unequivocally that the Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty singleplayer campaign is the best solo realtime strategy experience I’ve ever played. The issue with RTS games is that because you play the game from a distance, zoomed out from any one particular character, it’s very hard to pull off character development with the game’s storyline. Most games try to build character relations by showing the player story elements between missions, usually through cutscenes, but when you get to gameplay you’re unattached as a result of the top-down gameplay. Units are just cannon fodder you send into battle to take a base or complete an objective. For the most part SC2’s gameplay is the same way, but Blizzard has gone above-and-beyond during the interstitial segments to ensure that you’re well-informed about what’s happening in the game’s universe and what the purpose of the current mission is. Sure you get cinematics, but you can also move around and talk to different characters to learn their backstories and motivations as well as watch news feeds to see some of the impact your latest mission had on the world around you. On top of that there are multiple missions where you’re actually controlling JUST main characters from the story while they interact via voice dialogue. Through this combination I was able to stay well-informed and actually cared about the characters in the game’s campaign.
It should also be noted that Wings of Liberty is the first of 3 Starcraft 2 campaigns, this one is focused on the Terran race’s plight and the next two will focus on Zerg and Protoss respectively. I feel like Wings of Liberty really wrapped up a lot of the main conflict in the storyline so I’m interested to see how the other two campaigns work. Will they show the same conflict but from a different point-of-view, or will they show the outcome of what happened in Wings of Liberty? We shall see.
Of course the singleplayer aspect of Starcraft 2 is probably the lesser component in most people’s eyes, with the bulk of the focus landing on multiplayer via Battle.net. I’ve had some time to play a few co-op “comp stomps” as well as some 3 on 3 ranked play so I feel comfortable sharing a little bit about my experiences with that portion of the game. I’m not sure exactly how I’m going to structure this part of the post as there are a TON of different elements to talk about, but here goes.
I must first preface my Starcraft 2 multiplayer discussion by saying that, in certain parts of the world, Starcraft multiplayer is not a game or hobby, it is a sport. Korea is well-known for their love of the game and they’ve elevated it to a spectator sport. Us Americans watch football, they watch Starcraft 2 competitive tournaments (as well as many other sports, I’m sure). I always sort of mocked this idea but lately I’ve actually started watching some of the tournaments and I have to say they’re pretty entertaining. I’ll still take my Buffalo Bills and the NFL overall but given the choice between watching hockey or a Starcraft 2 tournament I’d probably take Starcraft 2.
Anyways, now that you can see that there is an ever-growing community of folks that take their Starcraft 2 multiplayer very seriously, I must address the concern that most new players have when approaching the multiplayer component of Starcraft: competitive difficulty. Can someone completely new to SC2 compete in multiplayer? To be honest, not really. You’re going to lose. In fact, you’re probably going to lose a lot. However, Blizzard has created a robust system on Battle.net to match players based on skill level which mitigates the pain a little, and at least you’ll learn from your failed attempts as with any aspect of life.
Let me also say that back in the day I used to play a lot of competitive Starcraft: Brood War. I was never awesome at it but I felt that I had a reasonable skill set that served me well enough to at least be reasonably imposing. The same is not true for Starcraft 2. It could very well be that I’m simply out of practice or more likely that strategies for online multiplayer have evolved significantly since I last played the original Starcraft, but to say I’m not a big threat online would be an understatement.
The good news is that some of the folks who I played the original Starcraft multiplayer with are now playing Starcraft 2, and not only has Blizzard made an exceptional friends system (it even includes Facebook integration, so you can find your real-life friends that play Starcraft 2 and add them to your list), but said friends from the glory days are much better than I am. What that means is that when I play with them in a 3v3 skirmish I can learn by watching (as well as pick up strategies from the official tournament play I’ve seen) and they’ll usually pick up the slack for my ineptitude. With that huge list of caveats and warnings out of the way I can state that, even in defeat, I find Starcraft 2 multiplayer extremely fun.
It might just be my love of all realtime strategy games but there are few more-exciting experiences in gaming (to me) than the rush of trying to build up a defensive base and army faster than my competitors and beating them with strategy. There’s a thrill associated with knowing you’re about to be attacked at any moment and you need to ward off the offenders but you’re running out of resources so you need to meet their army halfway (etc.). It’s actually very hard to describe other than to say, like all realtime strategy multiplayer, Starcraft 2’s is thrilling. SC2 has the added benefit of being extremely well-balanced. All three of the playable races from the game (Terran, Zerg, Protoss) vary greatly in their play style but at the same time no one of the three has a great advantage over the other 2. A great Zerg player can beat a great Protoss player, a great Terran player can beat a great Zerg player and so on and so forth.
Additionally, there’s an added element of fun I find with improving my game. Sure I might play 2 games back to back and get beaten both times, but maybe I improved in some way the second time around so that my skill set continues to advance. Ultimately I might become proficient at the game, who knows, but for the time being I’m having fun being cannon fodder for my friends while they bare the bulk of the enemy’s burden. Again, it’s hard to quantify exactly why I am enjoying Starcraft 2’s multiplayer, and the joy I’m experiencing may be fleeting, but at the moment I can say that I can’t wait to finish this post so that I can go play some more.
To wrap up this epic post I’m going to jump on the bandwagon and say that Starcraft 2 is the greatest realtime strategy game I’ve ever played. Company of Heroes is a close competitor that brought many new ideas to the table, and I still love that game quite a bit, but SC2 is where it’s at. A lot of folks have criticized it for being a modified and enhanced version of Starcraft that is fundamentally unchanged and yes, I’d agree. However, where this game shines is in the polish. Every aspect of the game has been improved in some way. In some cases the enhancements are minor, but in others they are grandiose. I dare any naysayer to go back and play the original Starcraft singleplayer campaign and tell me Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty isn’t much better.
There is another group of folks criticizing the game for being only 1/3rd of the Starcraft 2 story (as I mentioned, Wings of Liberty is the first of three campaigns) and that the game is an incomplete product. I feel that it is certainly a complete experience. The story and gameplay found in Wings of Liberty land in an extremely satisfying way and it took me well over 10 hours to complete. I will say that I hope the other two campaigns are cheaper, as Wings of Liberty provided both the singleplayer and multiplayer experiences for $60 while the other two games will probably only have singleplayer components. With that said I have no problems recommending Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty to anyone with an interest in the realtime strategy genre. I’ll see you on Battle.net!
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Screenshots
Feb 6th
My favorite parts of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are the awesomely life-like skyscapes you see throughout the game. Â Below are just a few of the screenshots I've taken while playing.
Summer of Arcade
Aug 29th
This is just a quick rambling AudioBoo about the quality of downloadable games we've seen this summer, which only further justifies the medium as a contender in the video game market. Â I haven't purchased a single hard copy of a game since Fight Night Round 4 in June, and in the meantime my attention has been kept by arcade games like Battlefield 1943 and Shadow Complex. Â I bet GameStop loves to hear that.
DOOM Resurrection only $2.99!
Aug 15th
Doom Resurrection is a first person shooter from the folks at id Software, makers of the Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake and now Rage series of games. Â It takes its cues from Doom 3 in particular, which was best-known for being a graphical revolution when it debuted on the PC back in 2004. Â Resurrection uses assets from that same game but, as you would expect of the iPhone, doesn't look quite as good.
The fact that it's an FPS has been misleading to some, because it's one of the multiple "on-rails" games that have found their way to the iPhone. Â That being said it's a full-featured experience that doesn't borrow levels from its previous PC counterpart, and even though it doesn't look as good as that game in particular, it's one of the most impressive visual showcases on the platform.
Doom Resurrection was previously priced at $9.99, but at $2.99 it's a steal. Â Hurry though, this is a QuakeCon exclusive deal that will end at noon tomorrow (August 16th). Â It's worth noting that id's iPhone version of Wolfenstein 3D is also on sale for only $0.99. Â Links to both can be found below.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Night Vision Goggles!
Jul 19th
Man, I thought the legendary Halo 3 "cat helmet" was bad. If you haven't seen it, Infinity Ward has really gone to great lengths to cash in on the Prestige Edition of their hotly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 game. For a whopping $150 (roughly equivalent to two full-priced 360/PS3 games and a DS game) you can get your copy of Modern Warfare 2 with a working pair of night vision goggles. What??
Sure, you get a lot of stuff for that cash aside from the goggles. Included in the package are:
- Steel book with metallic finish (included in the $80 hardened edition)
- Artbook (included in the $80 Hardened Edition)
- Token to download the origninal Call of Duty (included in the $80 hardened edition)
- Night Vision Goggles that is capable of seeing up to 50 feet
- Collector's stand to hold your goggles that is individually numbered.
So really you're paying $70 for a pair of working night vision goggles which is good I suppose, if you're in the market for NVGs. My question is are games so expensive to make these days that developers are obligated to put out these expensive special editions, or is this just a cash-grab because Call of Duty is a popular franchise? A bit of both, I'd suppose.
I mean, if you can pull this off and people will purchase it, why not? I've seen a lot of fans who laughed when this was first announced, but I also saw a bunch of folks who were looking forward to getting it. Me personally, I'm going to stick with the cheaper Hardened edition, mostly because it has a free download code for the original Call of Duty. I'd be purchasing that game anyways, and it'll probably cost $10 on its own. Therefore an extra $10 for an artbook and nicer case isn't all that bad.
At the same time I'm starting to think we've hit the saturation point for limited editions of games. I remember when the concept was first applied to consoles with the limited edition steel case copies of Halo 2 and Doom 3 for the original Xbox. Those were only $10 more, and you got a simple metal case with a bonus DVD with "making-of" content. I liked those because they were cool enough to warrant the extra cash but also not so large or gaudy to become a hassle when considering storage.
So then I ask you, what would it take for you to spend $150 on a game? Does this extra swag suffice, or would it take a bit more? See the unboxing below for a better explanation of what exactly is in the box with those NVGs.
AudioBoo – Battlefield 1943 and Monkey Island
Jul 18th
This one's split into two parts because the first part exceeded 5 minutes.
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Review
Jun 25th
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is almost difficult to review just because of the sheer amount of content in the game. Â You can play for hours and hours and still not really make a dent in the overall scope of the game, but based on the amount of time I've sunk into the world of Ancaria I think I'm well equipped to dish on my opinion of the game.
Sacred 2 is, at its most basic form, a callback to the classic PC RPGs of yesteryear. Â For the most part if you're a fan of games like Diablo, Diablo II, Dungeon Siege and Neverwinter Nights you'll have a good time with this game. Â You get to choose one of six character classes with unique traits and skills, and play through either the dark or light side of the main story campaign. Â Make sure you're careful to pick a character you really like though, because the level cap maxes out at a staggering 100, so you'll have a lot of time to bond with your digital self.
As with most RPGs the main gameplay is as follows: travel from town-to-town picking up quests from villagers and other NPCs, go bash in the skulls of some monsters, and return to said NPC to get experience to advance your character's level and gain some loot. Â The items you receive are rated on a star scale up to 5, with each additional star signifying an ever better item with more powerful attributes. Â The reason this is important is because, as we all know, dungeon crawler RPGs are all about the loot. Â If you don't have a propensity for acquiring trinkets to maximize your character's abilities then this game (as well as the entire genre) isn't for you.
The graphics are somewhat discouraging for next-generation title. Â The closest thing I can relate them to is Titan Quest on the PC, but that's a 3 year old game. Â Still, the comparison is apt as both the camera angle and character movements in both games are very similar. Â Given the fact that the world of Ancaria is huge it makes sense to give them some leeway in the graphics department, but still there are better looking games out there. Â The audio is another aspect that I have issues with - it's very repetitive. Â You'll hear the same bits of music everytime you have an encounter with an enemy (a scenario which plays out roughly every 30 seconds) so you'll probably be tired of the sound aspect of the game within a few hours of play. Â The voice acting is also hilariously bad, but one could almost chalk that up as a feature of the game since it brings some nice comedic relief every now and then.
Where this game truly shines is in co-op multiplayer. Â You can jump into an instance of the game with up to 3 of your friends and progress through the story as you would if you were playing the game alone. Â Like most RPGs this is the way the game was meant to be played. Â You're able to jump in and out of games no matter what your progress is in singleplayer, given that you characters are no more than 10 levels apart. Â From here you can progress through the campaign as you would normally, working through quests and generally helping each other out and once you finish up the session your character's experience progress, items and loot are carried back into singleplayer.
My biggest problem with Sacred 2 is the platform. Â As I mentioned above, it's a traditionally PC RPG experience which has been ported to the console, and I think the Xbox 360 doesn't do it justice. Â Being able to use a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller probably would have made this game much more enjoyable to me, if only because clicking on the screen to have my character move is much easier than using an analog stick. Â The game also chugs a bit when you're in towns which may be a symptom of limited console hardware.
If you're looking for an action RPG on the console then I'd have to say give Sacred a shot. Â I know a lot of people have been much more glowing about it than myself. Â However, I don't think this is the type of game that someone who isn't familiar with the genre will be into. Â In the end I'd say that Too Human pulls off a console adaptation of the genre better than Sacred 2, so if you're going to try Fallen Angel consider picking it up for PC instead.
E3 2009 – Rumors and Such
May 28th
It's that time again. Â This year's return to the E3 of yesteryear should produce some exciting news. Â This post is really just a roundup of some of the rumors I've heard and what I'm looking forward to most. Â We'll start with Microsoft and the Xbox 360.
Not much is known about what Microsoft is going to show this year. Â You can bet that Halo 3: ODST will play a big role, but otherwise they don't have the laundry list of announced megaton games to talk about like they have in years past. Â One rumor going around is that they're working on a motion controller (in fact, the same rumor is going for Sony) so we may see the debut of a new motion controller initiative to compete with Nintendo's ridiculously successful Wii. Â There's also a rumor that the 360's dashboard will see another massive update similar to the "New Xbox Experience" we saw last holiday season. Â This might be tied into the Zune / Xbox Marketplace integration that was announced this past week (along with the new Zune HD). Â However, as far as games go, I'm kind of at a loss. Â Some folks are saying that Half-Life 2: Episode 3 will be debuted during Microsoft's conference despite the fact that it's traditionally a PC franchise. Â I'm not sure about that but Episode 3 is definitely a game I'm interested in seeing.
The Sony press conference is the one I'm the most excited for because they have the biggest list of announced games to look forward to. Â There has also been some interesting information leaked about possible revisions to their hardware which have me excited. Â Let's start with the games, though. Â Currently the games they've announced that I'm interested in:
- Uncharted 2 - A sequel to my second favorite game on the console. Â What I've seen so far looks even better. Â Can't wait for this game.
- Heavy Rain - Should be interesting, comes from the same folks that made Indigo Prophecy. Â The gameplay seems to rely heavily on quick time events but the visuals are great as a result.
- Project Trico - This game isn't technically announced yet, but some footage was released not long ago and it looks promising. Â Unfortunately I wasn't around for ICO on the PS2, but I'm looking forward to playing my first game from Team Ico.
- God of War 3 - This one's obligatory. Â Another game from a series I haven't had the opportunity to try out yet but if nothing else the gameplay looks extremely fun and the visuals are amazing.
So that's just the software, how about the hardware? Â I've been flirting with picking up a PSP (for the second time, I might add - I bought the original when it was first launched but there were no games so I traded it in to put towards my 360), and all rumors point to an announcement of a new version of the PSP this year during Sony's press conference. Â Apparently called the "PSP Go," this new portable console will be focused on digital rather than physical media. Â You'll be able to download games from a PSP store which is very appealing to me, and very appealing to Sony because it should cut down on some of the rampant piracy issues associated with the device. Â A lot of folks are pointing to this as the rebirth of the device, and I know that if it's announced I'll buy one, plain and simple.
There's also the question of the Playstation 3. Â Despite having a solid line-up of games Sony is still struggling in this department. Â Some shots were recently leaked of a PS3 "slim" redesign, and originally these images were scoffed at. Â There is a bit of a twist however - sites that put these images up were contacted with cease and desist notices, giving this rumor some credibility. Â Could Sony finally be making a big push to put the PS3 on the map? Â A slim and sexy version of the console could do the trick, though a price drop wouldn't hurt either. Â We shall see.
As for Nintendo? Â Who on Earth knows. Â They maintain that they'll have games for core gamers (i.e. gamers who aren't interested in doing exercises on a balance board or playing their Wii remote like a pretend saxophone) but we've heard that before. Â All I know is that it really doesn't matter what they do at this point, the Wii and DS combined will continue to sell like gangbusters and completely outshine the 360 and PS3. Â My only concern is that Microsoft and Sony will begin to think that motion controllers are "where it's at" and give up on traditional gaming as we know it.
It would be a sad day if that were to happen.
Chronicles of Riddick : Assault on Dark Athena Review
May 25th
I've had some time to spend with Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and I have to say my overall impressions are very positive. Â I was a bit apprehensive about playing the game because I wasn't at all familiar with the franchise and I'm usually a little hesitant when it comes to games based on movies (and movies based on games, for that matter). Â However, Assault on Dark Athena has a lot of fun gameplay elements and overall I'm very happy with the experience.
To review Assault on Dark Athena is really to review two games - both Assault on Dark Athena itself and the previous title in the series Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, which debuted late in the original Xbox's lifecycle and was therefore missed by gamers such as myself. Â Fortunately you don't have to worry about playing a shabby Xbox port, because Tigon and Starbreeze Studios have completely remastered the game to bring it up to next-gen standards. Â I have to say compared to native Xbox 360 games there is no noticeable difference in graphical fidelity, and the environments in Butcher Bay are rich and pleasing to the eye. Â They did a great job of breathing new life into a game that was considered ahead of its time on the Xbox.
Gameplay-wise Escape From Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena are part stealth/espionage, part first person shooter, and part puzzle-solver.  Though you're encouraged to use Riddick's comfort in shadows to quietly take out enemies in the dark, you can also run around blasting them if you so dare.  The puzzle elements of the game are almost a throwback to older PC adventure games like Myst or Monkey Island.  There are many times throughout that you'll have to use your noggin to work through a problem in order to advance, and more often than not the puzzles provide just enough challenge to be fulfilling without being so difficult as to cause frustration.
The move from Butcher Bay to Assault on Dark Athena does provide some handy upgrades, but the overall look and feel of the series remains consistent. Â Though the environments and textures are just as good in Butcher Bay as they are in Assault on Dark Athena, I noticed that the character models in the latter were a big improvement. Â You can tell that a lot of attention was paid even to off-shoot characters and overall the detail is great. Â Another cool enhancement comes in the form of hot keys for your weaponry. Â If you want to, you can use a radial to browse all of the weapons you've collected, but in Assault on Dark Athena you can also assign your favorites to buttons on the d-pad for easy access.
The two games include a whole lot of replay value aside from the standard fare of achievements. Â If you're a fan of the Riddick franchise you'll delight in the fact that you can unlock a whole bunch of bonus features by finding and collecting items such as packs of cigarettes and security key cards in the game. Â Overall I have to say that it's rare to find a singleplayer experience that provides as much content as Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena does. Â Even if you're new to the franchise like I was you'll be able to jump in and enjoy the gameplay right away, and because Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena have linked narratives you'll get a consistent experience the whole way through.
If you want to learn more please check out my media post for 'Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena' by following this link:Â Game Reviews - The Chronicles of Riddick : Assault on Dark Athena and Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
Left 4 Dead’s Survival Mode
Apr 22nd
I'm a huge fan of Left 4 Dead, and it tends to be my go-to multiplayer game of choice because of its stellar cooperative play. Â For that reason, when the latest downloadable content for the game dropped yesterday, including the hotly-anticipated "survival" mode, I downloaded it immediately. Â Last night we had a crew of 4 ready to give it a try, but to be honest it left a sour taste in my mouth.
Survival Mode is basically an extended version of the scenario that plays out at the end of each of the four levels in Left 4 Dead. Â In the standard co-op mode the way it works is you and your 3 buddies have to defend an area while you wait for a rescue vehicle to come and save you from the zombie onslaught. Â Such a task is extremely difficult, especially on expert difficulty, but we've been able to overcome that part of the game several times with proper strategy.
Survival mode basically throws strategy out of the window. Â It's almost as if Valve made this mode just to thwart the gamers who play it. Â For example, if you ever find a good spot to hold up and defend from, chances are good that there will be some new breakable wall that will let the infected flood in from behind you. Â Not only that, but the waves of zombies and special infected come much more rapidly, and often simultaneously unlike in standard cooperative play. Â Add to that the fact that they've severely reduced the effectiveness of using melee attacks to push zombies away from you, and this mode has frustration written all over it.
The good news is that it's completely free, so you don't really have to worry about whether you'll like it or not. Â Give it a shot, you might dig it or you might think it's a little overboard. Â I'm apart of the latter group.
