Medal of Honor is coming out this October and the developers behind the game used references from actual soldiers. Below you can hear the account of 2 soldiers as they served and what they did.
MOH is looking pretty good, and below is the singleplayer gameplay vid again for those of you who haven’t already seen it from our E3 coverage.
Ok, summer is here… or it has been here for a lot of us, but it seems Microsoft finally acknowledge it as summer and has supplied a list of some deals as well as some new XBLA games and DLC that is released today or in the next week. Check it out below!
There will be a ‘LIVEapalooza’ sale which will begin on July 6th and run until July 12th. This sale basically discounts top music add-ons, covering albums, track packs and songs across a large number of music based games. (Lips, rock band, guitar hero, etc.)
July 7 | 800 Microsoft Points
A new monkey island game? Can I hear a woot woot! “Woot WOOT!” Good!
July 7 | 1200 Microsoft Points
This multiplayer first person shooter coming to download on XBLA lets you play with your friends as you fight tomorrow’s conflicts today. Confusing? I bet it is! But it is also peeked your interest!
June 30 | 400 Microsoft Points
A new DLC added to the Toy Soldiers game. Can’t get enough of those Toy Soldiers, hit it up now. It is on the marketplace now. We actually have a review coming out soon, as well as some contests on twitter and facebook. So if you aren’t following us, you will miss out on a chance to win some codes to this DLC.
July 7 | 400 Microsoft Points
Worms 2 DLC… better late then never! Gets your worms on!
Pure Football
Genre: Sports
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: Out Now
With the FIFA World Cup taking place this year, absorbing almost the entire planet, 2010 looks to be the ideal time to release a football/soccer game. But the question is, is Pure Football simply milking the hype that surrounds the World Cup, and funnelling that excitement into profit, like so many games were have seen released this year? Or is it a genuine release? Something that will contend with the other football games available, a new challenger in the previously two-horse-race between EA and Konami, FIFA and PES? Read on and find out…
Pure Football is a case of “does what it says on the box”. Pure Football. Football at it’s purest. This means football stripped back to basics, the essentials, the raw materials. As such, the game is done in a 5-a-side format, with no referee, and as a result, a lot of the rules you would associate with a referee disappear. No referee means no offsides, no free kicks and bookings, and no fouls to a certain extent. I say ‘to a certain extent’ as there is a system in place, in the form of a foul meter. When this fills up from a team committing too many bad tackles, it equals an instant penalty for the opposing team, no matter where they are on the field.
To add to the purity and to support the rawness of the game, Pure Football has been given an urban feel. This urban feel is outlined through the grounds you play on, with an example of one being ‘The Factory’, a pitch located inside an abandoned warehouse. Gone are the large stadiums, as are the bustling crowds along with the commentators. Some will see this as a welcome change, not only for the lack of the crowd, which at times in other games can be off-putting, but for the loss of commentary, which you soon learn off-by-heart if it is included.
Already, you must be realising that Pure Football isn’t your traditional football game. Well, there’s more. To coincide with the ‘Pure’ theme running through the game, there is ‘Pure’ section of your shot meter, indicated by a white zone, as well as 2 pure bars along the top of the screen, one for each time. The first of these features, the Pure part of your shot power meter, is a small white zone which, if you manage to hit by holding down the shot button for just the right amount of time, will cause your player to drive a seemingly rocket-powered shot goal wards. This shot is known as a ‘Pure shot’ and, as you can imagine, is much more effective that standard shots. A ‘Pure shot’ is shown in a satisfying slow-mo/time stop style, and if shot from an appropriate range, is almost a guaranteed goal. The second of these features is the pure power bar which stretches across the top of the screen. Each time you do something deemed to be ‘good’, such as hitting the post or a saved shot, this bar will slowly fill up. When it is completely full, the next shot you take will be a ‘Pure shot’, no matter how long you hold down the shot button. After you have taken your shot, the Pure bar along the top will drain back to empty whether you scored or not. This method of obtaining Pure shots is very effective, and if you are controlling the match well, you will earn plenty of beneficial extra pure shots as a reward.
This display of strength through the powerful Pure shots is reciprocated in the physical appearance of the players. Ubisoft clearly haven’t gone for realism, shown not only by the super-powered shots, but by the fact that the in-game players resemble caricatures of their real-life counterparts, more than the real thing. The graphical style certainly isn’t unique, as it was already trialled in EA’s ‘FIFA Street 3’, and in comparison , Pure Football is actually a more toned down version of this, despite the emphasised muscular structure of the player’s bodies. With all this taken into account, it works quite well and adds to the arcade feel that Pure Football emits.
In regards to play modes, there is a fairly standard array of choice; from ‘Exhibition’ and ‘Quickplay’ for some instant action, either single player or local multiplayer; to the ‘Campaign’ section which links into the section were you can create your own player; on top of the Xbox Live compatibility.
As a single player experience, Pure Football allows for both brief and extended periods of play, depending on the preference of specific players. The ability to tamper with the settings, like being able to adjust the duration of the match, grants this flexibility. Even the Campaign can be played in short bursts, due to the “one match at a time” structure, which is complimented by the game’s autosave system. The Campaign mode is long enough to be substantial, but short enough to make repeated playthroughs plausible, and an abundance of unlocks means there is plenty of reason to do so. The manner in which you unlock players is neat and quirky, completing challenges as you play against them in order to unlock them for transfer, at which point you can purchase them with Pure Points earned in matches (PP are the currency of Pure Football).
Unfortunately, the Campaign can be completed with ease on the lower difficulties, with the aim of being number one in the world achievable in half the allotted time. The fact that there is a range of difficulty, when combined with the arcade style of the game, means that Pure Football accommodates for less experienced gamers. But, for more experienced gamers, once you have picked up the controls, you will need to crank up the difficulty settings for this game to present any challenge. Even after the difficulty has been turned up, there is still the option to ‘restart match’ at the end of every campaign game. Although this comes with the consequence of a reduction in the bonus PP earned, this repercussion does not seem significant enough to discourage players from overusing this feature, meaning the campaign gets even easier.
Multiplayer is enjoyable, mostly due to the fact that it is much more fun playing with someone human, instead of the computer. This is partly because the AI is so unreliable though, especially the goalkeeper. This could be to encourage initiative in gamers, and cause them to make crucial decisions for themselves, but either way, the goalkeeper is a liability and you will need to take over from the AI goalkeeping decisions if you want to avoid silly mistakes. As far as Xbox Live goes, there is the ‘Transfer Market’ where you can spend your hard-earned PP to compile the squad of your dreams, as well as typical one versus one matches online.
Local Multiplayer is malleable, with up to 4 players able to collaborate with each other in a variety ways like 2 on 2, 3 on 1, or even all 4 against the computer. Local Multiplayer also benefits from a zoomed out viewpoint, in stark contrast to the behind-the-player perspective seen in single player. It brings me to wonder why this zoomed out view wasn’t integrated throughout the game, as it certainly works a lot better, allowing you to clearly see all the passing options, as well as get a feel for the size of the pitch.
Another frustrating aspect of the game is the constant stoppages. With the removal of the referee, stoppages like free kicks, offsides, bookings and substitutes have also been ousted. There aren’t even injuries! However, in their place, there are all kinds new, irritating stoppages which destroy every shred of momentum, and in turn, make the game feel very stop and start. For example, when there is a penalty the game’s progress halts as the game seems to initiate a penalty mini-game. If the keeper manages to parry the ball away, play doesn’t continue as it would in a real game. There is no chance for the striker to have another try on the rebound.
Then there is also the goal celebrations. As goals are frequent in Pure Football, the dark celebration screen popping up each time gets annoying and further interrupts play. They make the lengthy break in play from the instant replays (which, to be fair, are usually nice to watch) even longer, unnecessarily.
In summary, Pure Football offers an alternative spin on the ultra-realistic and technically accurate football/soccer titles on the market. It’s arcade style, with the super-powered shots and only a few basic rules, mean it can appeal to those who aren’t necessarily football fans, but are fans of games. At the same time, this inaccuracy could put off dedicated football fans, who may find the fantasy aspects on top of the lack of rules, too extreme. Whilst FIFA and PES remain unthreatened by this game as they bask in all their official and licensed glory, dwarfing Pure Football’s meagre arsenal of 20 teams and 230, street/arcade football has a new front runner and it’s name is Pure Football.
Pros
-Fun challenges to unlock new players
-Hammering in a Pure shot is very satisfying
-Arcade style appeals to wider audience
Cons
-More dedicated football fans may not appreciate the lack of rules
-Minimal choice of teams and players
-No atmosphere due to loss of commentators and crowd
-Poor AI, especially evident in the goalkeepers
-Awkward camera
6.5 Capsules out of 10
Yesterday we saw a video for Portal 2 which introduced us to Wheatley, and today Valve has two more videos to keep us anticipating their sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed puzzle games in the past decade.
First we have the Aerial Faith Plate which looks like a trampoline on steroids, as well as look to be quite a lot of fun, as you chase the cube around below:
And then the Excursion Funnel which is essentially a moving conveyor belt of energy that will definitely help complicate puzzles, but also provide unique ways to solve them as shown in the video below.
If you have been waiting anxiously on the PC copy of Darksiders to be released, then you will be forced to wait at least a little longer as THQ has finally told us the official release date for Darksiders on the PC will be September 16th in the United States and September 24th in the United Kingdom.
They also released the PC requirements that will be required to play Darksiders at the minimum settings, which you can find below:
So we have all seen various complaints that the ESRB has on our video games and what they contain. They also control what type of demographic a game will eventually sell for, though if it has an M rating it will automatically draw the pre-teen age group. However, what happens when they come across a very strange game, that contains magical girls flying around shooting enemies to death?
They also use the term “partially exposed pelvis” on top of minor blood showing throughout the game. Deathsmiles is a practical shoot em up side scroller developed by Cave in Japan and being brought to us in America by Aksys Games. It is very ironic that they used that term to describe what they are trying to warn people from. They also noted that the word a*s is not as bad as the word bastard, when both are used quite often in the normal world. Not that I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on this game either though. Anyone else been paying attention to this one as it’s been coming through the ranks and set for release this week?
ESRB’s Statement on Deathsmiles:
This is a side-scrolling shooter in which players control one of five small characters that fly through the air and destroy fantastical creatures to save the world. Players shoot an array of projectiles (bombs, bullets, scythes, swords, etc.) at pumpkins, spiders, apples, and monsters in constant air battle. Enemies and objects explode in fiery bursts, breaking apart into tiny, brightly-colored particles; when players are hit, small droplets of blood will scatter. Blood also appears on the face of a giant boss creature’s head. A menu screen depicts the five central characters posing suggestively in revealing outfits. A couple of static images depict the female characters with partially exposed pelvis and buttocks (e.g., a fairy creature and the heroines bathing). Language such as “a*s” and “bastard” appears in the game.
Source: (Siliconera)
Hulu Plus will be coming to the PS3 and the Xbox 360 shortly! However if you have the PS3 you will be having the oppurtunity to take advantage of this service first. Unfortunately though you will not be able to enjoy this service for free, as it will cost an additional $10 a month for access. This access will be available for the PS3 next month in July. The iPhone and iPad already have access to such features.
Those of us with Xbox 360’s on the other hand will be dealing with a long wait, as we will need to wait until sometime in the early months of 2011. This is due to what Microsoft is calling a customized experience with the kinect and Xbox Live. Plus those with a Silver Membership will not be able to access Hulu Plus as Gold Members will be the only ones with exclusive access. That means an even higher price tag on your monthly fee for Xbox Live there. Anyone interested in these features now that they are coming out? Or does the additional price tag make it too costly as an addition.
Ignition Entertainment seems to be really serious about the customization in their new downloadable game Blacklight: Tango Down.
Developed by Zombie Studios and set for the PC, PSN and XBLA, Blacklight: Tango Down will feature immensely deep customization, delivering literally trillions of different weapon combinations:
Players will be able to change out 25 different weapon attributes that will make decisive differences in gameplay. Gunstocks affect kick and velocity of the player, scopes change zoom and accuracy while magazine size affects reload speed and number of bullets fired off at the online enemy. Additionally, ‘weapon charms’ add visual personality while giving small perks to the gun. With the six core weapon systems such as SMG, shotgun, sniper rifle and assault rifle there are literally trillions of different weapon combinations to make players and their guns the most envied partners online.
Check out the “Customization” Developer Diary, were Zombie Studios shows some examples of the customization and how to do some interesting combinations.
Blacklight: Tango Down will be available this summer.
Valve released a new video for Portal 2 introducing Wheatley, a new and funny character in the universe of Portal series.
Wheatley will help the player during some of his progress in the game, the video below shows the amazing personality you can expect from this partner.
Of course you can expect the return of familiar faces too, since the cake is a lie, you know?
The achievements in Transformers: War for Cybertron are actually pretty good. There are the regular achievements for beating all the levels, and then the stackable difficulty based achievements, and of course the multiplayer achievements. Transformers: War for Cybertron does manage to wrap all these generic achievements with achievements that will actually get you replaying levels and are quite fun. There are the collecting achievements but those aren’t bad at all and with the game broken down into a series of levels and checkpoints, you can pretty much jump to any 10 minutes located in the game. No need to go through an entire level just for 1 item. Other achievements include doing a certain task so many times, but these are greatly helped by an in game tracker that pops up every time you you successfully complete another part of that task. Need to kill 10 people with a detached turret, it will tell you every time you get a new kill with a detached turret and keep a tally for you. There are also a few speed runs located in there, and those are actually fun and a bit challenging your first try. Overall the singleplayer achievements are bareable and not that bad. As for the multiplayer achievements, those just consist of grinding and no one likes doing that anyway.
~The Achievement List~
