Red Faction: Guerilla teaser trailer

If you’ve been a gaming enthusiast for a significant amount of time chances are good that you know about Red Faction.  It’s a series that has gotten a lot of love from its fans since it was released for PC way back in 2001, and ever since the follow-up title Red Faction II came to the PS2 there has been a lot of buzz about a next-gen sequel.  That wait is over.

The teaser trailer below plays to the strength of the franchise: destructible environments.  A lot of people attribute destructible environments to more modern games like Crysis, but the folks at Volition started the trend over 8 years ago.  Red Faction: Guerilla looks to take the idea to a whole different level, but you’ll have to watch the trailer to see what I mean!  I have to say that I’m excited to play this game because even though I’m familiar with the Red Faction titles, I’ve never had a chance to try them.

So then, how are the destructible environments in Red Faction: Guerilla so much better than those in Crysis?  Well, for starters, the biggest building I destroyed while playing Crysis was a hut out in the jungle.  The buildings you can destroy in Guerilla are exactly that – actual buildings.  Rather than running through the front door of the enemy’s barracks you can instead just blow the whole multi-floor building up.  Whereas destruction in Crysis was sort of an after-thought, destruction in Red Faction: Guerilla is your best weapon.

So, without further delay, here’s the video:

A new contender enters the ring…

It’s no secret that I’ve been planning my next laptop purchase for a while now.  Up until today I was stuck deciding between the HP HDX 16 and the Dell Studio XPS 16.  Now Acer had to come along and throw a monkey wrench into my plans!  I was lucky to have narrowed it down that far!

Acer announced a new line of very interesting notebooks at their event in New York today.  The new line is branded “Aspire Timeline,” and they basically amount to machines with the portability of a MacBook or Dell Adamo with a much more attractive price.  There are three models (13.3″, 14.1″ and 15.6″) and all three are only an inch thick.  The prices range from $699 – $899.  They also have incredible battery life; eight hours stock and up to ten with a solid state drive.

Since I’m looking for a machine with a screen that’s larger than my current MacBook’s the 15.6-incher is my most likely candidate.  Of course details are sketchy right now and if the laptops don’t perform in the end then I’ll have to pass.  Still, in the documentation Acer says that these are for “knowledgeable users who understand performance” so there’s hope.

Originally found on Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-announces-aspire-timeline-ultralights-699-to-899/

My most anticipated title of the year is…

…a remake of a 7 year old game that will probably be nothing more than a budget arcade title to most.  That’s right, Battlefield 1943 is a game I’ve been calling for since Battlefield 2142 came out.  Its developer, DICE, has put out Battlefield games in pretty much every era possible.  World War 2, Vietnam, the modern era with Battlefield 2 and even the future with 2142.  So, what’s left?  Time to start all over!

Battlefield 1942 was easily my favorite game of the series.  It might have something to do with the newness of the game at the time, but being able to get a huge (relatively speaking) group of people on a map with separate character classes and vehicles was extremely fun.  I liked all of the games that followed but I’m most partial to the WW2-era arsenal, and since the guns and vehicles are the most important part of the game that means quite a bit.

The new game is titled Battlefield 1943 and is under development in the Frostbite engine.  It’ll launch for PC, Xbox Live Arcade and PSN.  I’m almost certain I’ll stick with the PC version though.  Here’s the trailer: