Ever since the release of Battlefield: Bad Company, DICE has sort of made a name for itself in the field of demolition. Similar to series like Red Faction, Battlefield has come to be known as the king of destructible environments. It doesn’t seem like Battlefield 3 is going to give up that title without a fight.
EA and DICE have released the second episode of Battlefield 3 Fault Line, titled Good Effect on Target, which shows some awesome scenes of in-game footage. If you have 2 and a half minutes to spare I would recommend checking it out. The ending shows a great example of how DICE have put their ANT animation tech to good use with some of the destruction the series has come to be known for. You can find the video at EA’s website. Battlefield 3 will be out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 later this year, and be sure to look for episode 3 of Fault Line on March 30.
Talk about good luck. My first random game was Solaris for the 2600, a space combat game which I thoroughly enjoyed despite having no idea what it was prior to starting this. Now for my second random game I end up with Metroid Fusion, perhaps one of my all-time favorite games on the Gameboy Advance. This is the game that got me into the entire Metroid series. Since I grew up with a Sega Genesis rather than a Nintendo or a Super Nintendo, I never played the older Metroid titles when I was younger. Also, in 2002 when Metroid Prime was released I was heavily steeped in playing Halo with a group of friends every weekend. So when I picked up Metroid Fusion it was for the most part my first foray into the whole series. I don’t think I’ve really played it in a couple of years so it will be fun to revisit it.
Samus Aran's new Fusion Suit is integral to both the story and the gameplay
Man, the opening cutscene to this game is great. While Metroid games have never really been too much about the story (Team Ninja’s recent entry excluded), I really love the story of Fusion. Samus is investigating a research station when she encounters an alien parasite known as X. Yes, that’s a terribly generic name, I know. Anyway, X infects Samus and uses her nervous system as a host. Federation doctors do everything they can, even having to surgically remove most of Samus’s armor which began to fuse to her body (eh, Fusion, eh? Get it?). Things seem grim for the daring bounty hunter, but suddenly, a cure is found! Can you guess where the cure came from? Why of course, it’s from a cell culture of Samus’s baby metroid, who has now saved her life a second time (the first being in Super Metroid if you haven’t played it).
Baby Metroid's first heroic rescue
So now Samus in unable to access many of her latent abilities, blah blah, have to recover them, blah blah, it’s basically Nintendo’s way of starting you off from scratch this game. Every Metroid story has one, and this is no exception. I kind of like it even though it makes no biological sense. It’s certainly better than Other M’s excuse of “Because the commanding officer of an army I don’t even belong to said I can’t sneeze without his permission”. (Seriously, what bounty hunter wouldn’t use life-saving technology just because she doesn’t have permission from her surrogate daddy-figure? What CO would even issue such an order??) Most of the sci-fi in this game’s story is much more fi than sci, but it works in that B movie sort of way that gamers have grown accustomed to.
The gameplay is the real star here. Being a direct sequel to Super Metroid, the control is pretty similar. Beam, missiles, screw attack, it’s all standard Metroid fare, but the design works so well with your abilities that it really is just a pleasure to run around blasting aliens. There are some seriously awesome set pieces in this game too, and it has more than its fair share of memorable moments.
Back to that parasite, X, which has infected Samus. As it turns out, it has also been running amok on this station you’re investigating. Basically, after X kills its host, it uses its DNA to mimic whatever it was infecting. So after you kill each enemy in the game, they’ll release the free floating X parasite. Because of Samus’s prior infection and the introduction of the Metroid vaccine, she is not only immune to X but she can also absorb the parasite to regain health and missiles (no, I don’t know how a parasite refills missiles so don’t ask).
This is one of the X parasites that is exposed after killing a boss.
This creates a couple of mechanics in the game. The first is the aforementioned health/missile refills. Second, it means that whenever you kill a boss, a special X parasite is released which you can absorb to regain some of your missing abilities. This, combined with data transfers from the Federation through specific rooms in the game, is how you upgrade your capability. Finally, there is the SA-X.
The SA-X is essentially an X parasite that is mimicking Samus Aran. Unfortunately for us, the SA-X version of Samus is at full strength with all of its armor and weapon upgrades, whereas as we have one measly energy tank and the plain old vanilla energy beam. Because of this, SA-X is one of the most terrifying enemies I have ever encountered in a video game. Seriously, I think the only time I was more scared in a game was while playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent (it’s terrifying, go play it and try not to scream at least once). There is literally nothing you can do against the SA-X until much later in the game, so whenever you encounter this beastly doppelganger you have two choices: run or hide. Believe me, running from an enemy which is much stronger than you and can easily kill you in seconds while you are completely helpless to fight it is a dread-inspiring occasion (this is exactly what made Amnesia the horror-fest that it is).
When you see this pop out from behind a corner, you know you’re doomed.
I guess I should also mention that Metroid Fusion has a special feature where it can connect via link cable to your Gamecube with Metroid Prime. This would allow you to unlock Samus’s fusion suit for use in Metroid Prime, and would unlock a playable version of the original Metroid. However, I didn’t and still don’t own one of these cables which is why I’m not too enthusiastic in describing it. It’s definitely a cool idea, and the unlockables are awesome, but it only works for people who bought the link cable (which was only really worth it for Crystal Chronicles).
As I’m playing through it now, I notice that I’m appreciating it so much more after I was disappointed by Other M. To be clear, there were a few disappointing aspects about the newest Metroid, but the biggest one by far was the characterization of Samus as a whiney brat who followed orders from her CO blindly and is incredibly emo. Fusion also focuses heavily on her relationship with her commanding officer Adam Malkovich, whose personality was programmed into the artificial intelligence which is now leading you through your mission.
The difference is that in this game, Samus is dignified and respectable, whereas in Metroid: Other M she completely ruins any credibility she had as a non-stereotypical female character. In Fusion, Samus even clarifies that even though Malkovich would call her “Lady” it was clear that he would do so with respect, a pet name for a woman whom he saw just as much as a daughter as he did a soldier. In Other M you just want to smack the both of them.
Samus apparently read Roger Ebert’s book on insubordination
One problem I’m having as I replay this game is that whenever you replay a Metroid game, or even if you’re just playing a new metroid game, the beginning can feel a bit slow. You know what abilities Samus should have, and you find yourself trying to use them or just wishing you could get everything already. This isn’t really a complaint about the game, but I would like to see if someone could pull of a Metroid game where you start off fully powered.
It would kill any need for exploration or finding secrets, but it would mean that it would be an entire game full of the kinds of puzzles, platforming, and combat that you only really see in the last 25% of any Metroid title. Every room could be made extra challenging, and you would have all of Samus’s skills and arsenal at your disposal to make it through a much more difficult Metroid. I definitely think it would be an interesting game for long-time players of the franchise who don’t really need the difficulty curve or introduction to new abilities.
As I just regained the charge beam, I can use this as an example of the type of fan service this game uses. There is quite a bit of it, but you should expect some surprises even with well-known Metroid concepts. For example, as I’ve said before, abilities are regained through absorbing special boss versions of the X parasite. However, when entering the room which holds the charge beam, you’ll encounter a familiar site, a Chozo statue holding a powerup for you. Veteran Metroid players know that these statues were what gave Samus her abilities in previous titles, so one quickly jumps into its claws.
Unfortunately, that’s not how Samus powers up in this game, as the player should have already known. This turns out to be another X parasite mimicking a Chozo (Mimicking a Chozo statue actually. Again, don’t ask me how a parasite can mimic a statue), and touching it triggers a fight with the parasite to regain the charge beam. Somehow I always manage to fall for this trap. For anyone who has played Cave Story, it’s just like the door in the first cave which turns out to be an enemy; it gets me every time. I still think it’s a fun, if not completely logical, little inclusion of something from Metroid lore.
Does nobody ever listen to Admiral Ackbar? It’s a trap!
Everything is incredibly tight and focused in this game. Each new ability feels significant and really makes you feel as though you’re getting stronger until eventually you reach 100% combat capability. There are also crazy secrets in this game. Some are pretty simple, just involving finding hidden gaps in walls or spots to shoot. Others, however, especially those later in the game which require the speed booster, are devilishly tricky, not only to figure out but to actually pull off even when you know what to do.
It’s for these reasons that I have been hoping for the announcement of a new 2D Metroid title, a Metroid 5 if you will (Metroid Fusion is technically 4th in the series, don’t forget Metroid II for the Gameboy). The DS would have been perfect for it, but now with the 3DS releasing soon I’m sure any Metroid games for it would at least be in pseudo-3D if not entirely so. It really is a shame, because as good as the Metroid Prime games were I would hate to see the abandonment of the 2D series.
This is a huge game, and there are tons that can be said about it, but I think most people are fairly familiar with the Metroid series so I just wanted to share some thoughts on why this game in particular is my favorite of them all. Hopefully this string of good luck keeps up. Although I wouldn’t mind taking out some frustration on something that really deserves it. We’ll find out next time…on Dragon Ball Z! No, wait, that’s not right. On the next Arrested Development…no that’s not it either. Well, we’ll just see next time.
From the same company that brought the hit title Zenonia to the mobile (and digital handheld) market now comes Illusia, an Action/RPG/Platformer which has now hit the Android Market. Illusia will feature two heroes’ journey through seven varied, vibrant and colorful worlds as they try to unravel the mystery behind a tower that has suddenly appeared on the land. There will also be 14 different affiliates of fighter and magician classes which players can customize using the vast selections of weapons and armors.
Each time you customize your fighter or magician it will also be visually seen on the characters sprite which is a little detail I always enjoy seeing.
Gamevil released this statement to follow-up with the release of Illusia:
“Android fans of ZENONIA our series have been clamoring for more, and we’re happy to now present our latest and newest in the RPG genre,” said Kyu Lee, Head of GAMEVIL USA. “We’re sure players will enjoy and savor the strong action and role-playing experience of ILLUSIA.”
I certainly enjoyed my time spent with Zenonia (you can check out our review for the DSiWare version by clicking here), and Illusia definitely looks to be just as good and well worth the $4.99 price tag. You can check out the brand new trailer below and view Illusia’s official page on the Android Market here.
Let me start this off by telling you that last night I saw Rango, and I thought that it was absolutely fantastic. It was essentially The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly but with a cartoon lizard voiced by Johnny Depp. What about that doesn’t sound awesome?
Now you might ask why I’m bring this up in a post that is clearly about Crysis 2. Well, the score for Rango (which rocked my socks clean off) was composed by Hans Zimmer. As you’ve most likely read in the title, he will also be contributing to the soundtrack of Crytek’s latest release. If you don’t know Hans Zimmer by name, you certainly know his music. He has composed songs for films like The Dark Knight, Sherlock Holmes, Inception, and even Lion King. The Lion King for crying out loud!
I’ll admit that I’ve never played Crysis (mostly because I use a Dell Studio 17 laptop as my main PC), but how can you not be excited about a video game score with Hans Zimmer in the credits? While you can feel free to wait until Crysis 2 is released (March 22nd in North America, 24th in Australia, and 25th in Europe and New Zealand) to listen to the soundtrack, there is also a 3 minute preview up here which is absolutely epic. Along with Rango, I’ll have to add Crysis 2 to the list of soundtracks I need to buy, and it will be available on iTunes and Amazon on March 22nd.
Battle: Los Angeles Publisher: Konami Developer: Live Action Studios Consoles: Xbox 360(reviewed), PlayStation 3 Release: March 11th 2011 (XBLA), March 22nd 2011 (PSN Price: 800 MSP ($10) Buy Now
Overview:
Movie tie-in games often come out the same time as a movie does or a few weeks before in some cases. But what happens when a developer and publisher decide to go with a downloadable movie-game instead of a full retail version. Well you get Battle: Los Angeles which was released for the XBLA when the movie was released and on the 22nd for the PSN. Does Battle: Los Angeles do anything to throw off the stigma of being based off of a movie?
Story:
Let me first say that the game does follow the general plot of the movie. First mistaken as meteors falling to earth, Aliens have invaded Earth for some unknown reason and are currently taking over cities across the globe. In Los Angeles you play as Corporal Lee Imlay and you will be fighting alongside characters from the movie.
If only the actual story was presented in a decent manner. The introductory cutscenes, and between mission cutscenes are nothing more than stop motion comics that do little to explain what is happening exactly other than saying you are a soldier, here are the enemies, this end of your gun shoots bullets, point it at the enemies. The actual story that plays out through the game takes some of the best moments of the movie and chops them down to nothing more than simple objectives.
It is quite obvious that plenty of moments from the movie are cut out when you are actually finished with the story which will only take you around forty minutes to complete. There are some pretty big flaws when a game based around a movie can’t even boast playtime longer than the movie itself which clocks in at almost two hours.
Graphics & Audio:
Some of the moments in Battle: Los Angeles are hit and miss as far as graphics go. There are a number of moments when the B:LA actually shows off a decent destructible environment engine with bits of cover chipping away, highway signs breaking under gunfire and chunks or rubble being blasted away by the enemy.
Unfortunately besides that there is nothing impressive about B:LA. There are two different enemies with the player being able to use only three actual guns and one mounted weapon. The guns themselves feel quite off as the machine gun you use feels like it is literally being shot through water. The sound feels so muffled that there are times that you may not realize you are actually shooting your gun other than the ammo counter on the HUD ticking down.
Earlier I mentioned that the cutscenes take the form of stop motion comics that are unfortunately poorly drawn in quality. They are passable at best but do not do anything to instill a good feeling about the storyline. The only time any scenes from the movie are shown is through little pictures at the opening cutscene which can quickly be forgotten. This goes double with the voice acting and the actual script.Aaron Eckhart returns to voice his character from the movie but unfortunately that is the highlight of the voicework considering the fact that everything else is as generic as possible whether it be the way the characters present themselves to the lines they say.
This comes double when you put together the fact that there is blatant in game advertising. It would have been one thing if there was a few recognizable franchises blended into the destruction, or it didn’t seem so forced. But unfortunately it is. If you aren’t shooting down the same alien again and again you are seeing a Sony Ericsson sign or an advertisement showing off the Green Hornet Blu-ray and DVD coming out soon.
Gameplay:
There isn’t a whole lot to B:LA’s gameplay beyond going from point A to point B and making sure that nothing is breathing in between you and that point. There are a couple of moments that you have to protect an ally or shoot down an aerial assault vehicle but that is unfortunately it. The gunfire from your four weapons can sometimes pass right through enemy aliens, even with a sniper shot directly to the head.
The character that players play as, Imlay, is also the worst Marine you could imagine even if he is carrying a whole bunch of equipment on himself. Players are only able to run a very short distance before he is breathing heavily and walking at a snail’s pace for a few moments. Either that or you can blast your fellow soldiers in the face for a little bit due to there being no friendly fire aspect.
Overall:
I really wish there was more to talk about and more information to give you involving the gameplay but at its best Battle: Los Angeles is a generic run of the mill shooter with aliens placed in the place of any normal enemy you could usually face. With a 800 MSP ($10) price tag there really isn’t any reason to take a second glance at B:LA unless you need a generic FPS to tide yourself over for a half hour.
We know that gaming is about more than just playing a character, following a storyline, and shooting zombies. A part of the beauty in gaming is in the community spirit. Whether it’s online gaming, walking into your local retailer, or tweeting/Facebooking developers and publishers, the gaming community is by far one of the most friendly out there.
We help fellow gamers when they’re stuck in a game and we help confused players with technical difficulties. Now the gaming community faces one of the biggest challenges a community can face: it’s time for us to help an entire country.
Japan has given us games such as Pokemon and Final Fantasy and fuelled much development across all areas of technology. The country and its people have faced a great crisis, and need support to rebuild and repair the damages to homes, companies, and lives. Even if you can only spare a few dollars, it’s still worth it knowing you have given back a little bit to a nation that has given us so much.
Every cent of donation will go to a nation that is in great need of help and support. Let them know that the gaming community cares.
If you donate, send us an email with how much you donate (receipt proof required) to [email protected] and you will earn extra cube points to be spent on awesome rewards here.
Do you enjoy pretending to be a DJ? Need more songs to mix? Activision has released 3 brand new mixes for DJ Hero 2 in the Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack. So pick up your turntable peripherals and get scratching!
Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack (available now):
“My World Premiere” by Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf Mixed With “The Red (Instrumental)” by Jaylib
“Party Hard” by The Perceptionists ft. Guru & Camu Tao Mixed With “Ghostwriter” by RJD2
“The Best Day” by Atmosphere (Remix by FSG)
The Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack is available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Microsoft for 640 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation network for around $8.
All of the tracks will be released as downloadable singles for Wii for 300 Wii Points each.
After years of releasing absolutely zero information about the game and then that amazingly memorable trailer, Techland’s Dead Island is looking better than ever. Deep Silver released a few more screenshots today that show off the picturesque island setting that the game will take place on.
Of course it would be picturesque if it wasn’t for all of the blood on the ground there by those lounge chairs. Also it looks like the beach has seen better days. But wait a second… is that a giant zombie looking thing in a straitjacket and wearing some sort of mask on its face? Yes… that is exactly what it looks like. It seems there is much more than normal zombies to deal with on Dead Island.
As anyone can tell you, the two things I love are platformers and retro games. You can imagine then how excited I have been the last few years about the impending release of FEZ. It may seem like a lifetime ago that FEZ first came on the scene, and some may have given up waiting for it all together. Today, however, it was announced that POLYTRON, the independent studio that created FEZ, and Trapdoor, an independent Montreal based developer, will be partnering up to bring FEZ to the Xbox Live Arcade in 2011.
After three years of anticipation since its debut at the 2008 Independent Games Festival, where FEZ won the Excellence in Visual Art award, we may finally get a chance to play this game. Described as a quirky combination between Super Paper Mario and Echochrome, FEZ is a rather unique platformer with a fantastically charming retro style. Hopefully there won’t be any hiccups with Microsoft’s often rather stringent protocols for its downloadable service, and if all goes according to plan we should have our hands on FEZ before the coming apocalypse!
With a release date set its apparently time to show off what the box will look like so that way when Shadows of the Damned comes out in stores you know what you will be looking for. Today EA and Grasshopper Manufacture have released the boxart for the game, with the PS3 version and the Xbox 360 version sharing the same image.
As you can see to the right the image contains protagonist Garcia Hotspur in a purple leather jacket and pointing his skull-headed gun towards you. With Shadows of the damned being the latest creation of developer Suda 51 and Grasshopper it certianly looks like the game will be one to enjoy this summer when it comes out on June 7th.
