Archive - 2010

Namco Bandai has released a new trailer for their recently gone-gold Dead to Rights: Retribution. The third-person actioner is due out on April 27th and promises a mature storyline. This new trailer goes ‘behind the game’, the first of a two-part video series.

Dead to Rights: Retribution Gone Gold

2010/03/29

Namco Bandai has announced that their upcoming third-person actioner, Dead to Rights: Retribution, has gone gold and is on-track for an April 27th release across North America. The game is being released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (X360) – A Review

2010/03/29

The first Battlefield: Bad Company, followed Bravo Company (a unit made up of mostly misfit soldiers) as they fought their way through many fields of battle in a fictional war between the Russian Federation and the United States. Just when the unit thinks they will be sent home, they get re-instated to active duty and sent off to fight again in Bad Company 2, the latest game from EA DICE.

In a very interesting turn and slight nod to the World War II shooters out there, some of which were created by EA DICE themselves, Bad Company 2 starts off with the player in a secret Allied unit sent into the Pacific Theatre of war to retrieve an operative from Japanese clutches. What happens directly sets up the story of Bad Company 2, some fifty odd years later. In fact, the player is presented will all sorts of gimmicky gameplay elements throughout the game.

You will jump from the previously-mentioned World War II portions to on-rails segments where you man a turret or even get behind the wheel of an M1A1 main battle tank. The gameplay keeps the player moving and guessing as to what happens next in the story and never ceases to be full of an 80’s style of action found in those great popcorn flicks staring guys like Arnold and Sly. Thankfully, Bad Company 2’s dialogue is light-year’s funnier than what was featured in those seminal classic flicks, with the game even picking on Predator and a plethora of other pieces of pop culture. In fact, one of the bad guy types in the game looks just like Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura as Blain in Predator.

Just like in the original, Bad Company 2 features a ton of weapon types for you to utilize, usually picked from the bodies of your foes. Weapon effects are well-visualized and give a real sense of ‘power’ in what you are firing at the time.

Visually, the game is quite detailed (even stunning on the PC version). However, on our Xbox 360 version of the game, it suffers from the usual aliasing issues. Other than the ‘jaggies’, however, the game looks very pretty and features some very well-done level design with multiple paths to explore.

Game audio is nicely composed, both in terms of soundtrack and ambient effects, while the voice work is stellar. I would seriously consider watching a machinima-style web series featuring the characters of Bravo Company; Irreverent, over-the-top humor mixed with 80’s action flick bravado is the order of the day here. Also, the score is composed by Mikael Karlsson and has a very… Indiana Jones-style to it. I would say a John Williams style but, given the subject matter, my first comparison holds more true. Either way, Karlsson should be proud as it is a great score for the adventure-shooter.

The only real area where Bad Company 2 disappoints is that, while the on-rails segments keep things interesting, they also provide some very frustrating moments as the game will not save every step of the way and a death could mean having to start over at the beginning of the sequence. Maybe I am just a spoiled PC-gamer, but it is frustrating, nevertheless.

While I dealt mainly with the game’s single-player element, it is quite clear that the multiplayer component of the game is going to extend the replayability considerably. There are several multiplayer game modes such as ‘Rush’ and ‘Conquest’, and EA is promoting these by releasing DLC packs featuring maps every few months. Personally, I found the single-player experience fun and compelling, and it has actually stirred me to begin playing the multiplayer content a lot more than before.

Overall, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is an over-the-top, irreverent thrill-ride of a first-person shooter which is begging to be played, even despite its minor issues.

*DISCLOSURE: EA DICE gave GamingShogun.com a copy for the purposes of this review.

Review of the Avid Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Plus HD

2010/03/28

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Avid’s newly-acquired brand, Pinnacle Systems, Inc. is a long-time creator of consumer video editing peripherals. The latest in their Video Creator peripheral series is the Video Creator Plus HD, which promises to allow consumers the ability to shoot and edit video on their PCs.

INSTALLATION and SETUP
The first step in getting the Video Creator Plus HD system to work properly is to install the included software disk. Not only will the disk install the Pinnacle Studio HD software suite, but also the drivers for the key hardware component of the system – the DVC-107 USB video capture dongle. Pinnacle has made the installation very easy, thankfully, and after you get done with the install software, you can plug the DVC-107 into an available USB 2.0 port and let the magic begin.

DESIGN
The DVC-107 video capture dongle features an all-white or all-black, slick plastic shell with plastic-insulated cabling that ends in a USB 2.0 plug. The DVC-107 features ports to accept both RCA as well as S-Video inputs as well as RCA (stereo) audio inputs. The peripheral is powered all by the USB connection, so there is no added RF adapter to worry about toting around. Thankfully, this makes the video capture dongle extremely easy to take with you in your jump bag. The design is pleasing to the eye as well, which makes it nothing you would be ashamed to have connected to your laptop while you edit video.

USAGE
Using the Video Creator Plus HD is very easy, allowing you to get video from any source which uses the accepted cabling. For instance, you can transfer over video from your VHS cassette players to digitize your old home movies. For the would-be filmmakers out there, getting video from your camcorder is equally easy, and the system takes the technical load off of you so that you can focus on actually editing your video.

You can also use the DVC-107 dongle, once fully-installed, as a means of getting live video from your USB port-equipped camcorders for use in streaming video services like USTREAM. This unadvertised feature makes the Video Creator Plus HD a great solution to bridge the divide between those of us with FireWire-equipped camcorders and those of us without.

The included software is very east to use, and I am not just writing that from someone who is used to software like Sony’s Vegas and Adobe’s Premiere software. Even laypersons should have no problem picking up the in’s and out’s of the Pinnacle Studios HD software. Once completed, you can then output your video back through the DVC-107 dongle or even to online services like YouTube. The software features track-based audio and video editing, a titler, as well as transition effects. Without taking a scientific study, I would guess that this is the most inexpensive, full-featured video editing software available.

OVERALL
Avid’s Pinnacle Dazzle Video Creator Plus HD works exactly as advertised and then some, being a very easy way to get video from your camcorder, or VHS tape player, to your PC. Additionally, it then allows you to edit the video in the included software suite, adding transitions, effects, etc. For $89.99 on the official website, you just can’t find a better price to value solution that will do what this system can.

*DISCLOSURE: Pinnacle Systems gave GamingShogun.com a Video Creator Plus HD for the purposes of this review.

God Of War 3 (PS3) – A Review

2010/03/28

It has been several years since God Of War 2 left us hanging by a thread as Kratos held onto the mother of all Titans in his quest to destroy Zeus. Sony Santa Monica is back, so let’s see if God Of War 3 lives up to the hype.

STORY AND PRESENTATION:
God Of War 3 is HUGE. And, by huge, I mean bigger than any game you have ever played in terms of scope. The first ten minutes of the game can only be described as ‘epic’ and completely sets the tone for the entire game. There were times in that opening seuqence that I found myself sitting on the edge of my couch as if I were watching a tornado sweep across my living room. When Sony told everyone that they were going big with God Of War 3 they weren’t kidding. The Titans really are titans and dwarf everything around the landscape. You get the sense that these mythical creatures are important and quite deadly in their larger than life visages.

Without a great story, such a epic presentation can be truly wasted. It is a good thing that the story in God Of War 3 goes toe to toe with all other aspects of the game. While the meat of the game really is in its blood and guts action, it was refreshing to see that they stuck with the same great story telling. Now, of course the story wouldn’t get you an A on your midterm in Greek and Roman mythology but it is pretty awesome none the less.

GAMEPLAY:
The controls in God of War 3 are straight out of your typical action-shooter. You have weak attacks, strong attacks, evading with the control sticks, and your classic jump button. The one thing that has always nagged me about this series was it was just too boring to keep smashing the same buttons all the time. The developers took this into consideration and added more secondary weapons and tons of primary weapon-switching. As you continue on your path during the game you will come across several different weapons based on characters you meet, and some that you take by brute force… Each situation in the game is different so you may need to switch weapons mid fight to overcome that mob of baddies. This is done flawlessly and gives the action a smoothness that is not seen in most games of the genre. When the action really gets going there is no downtime and you can literally string combos left and right until everyone around you is a mangled heap of giblets.

Made famous in the previous games in the series are the often gore-filled death attacks on your opponents. This feature has returned in God Of War 3 and, this time, the developers have tweaked it a bit. The quicktime events show up on your screen in areas just like they would on your controller. This resolves the problem of missing certain sequences over and over because the pop ups are in the middle of the action. Sony’s Santa Monica team deserves some serious kudos as the small changes add a lot to the experience.

As you kill baddies, you collect red orbs that you store for upgrading weapons via the menu screen. Each weapon you come across has different levels of upgrades that add new powers and attacks. It is up to you, as Kratos, to decide which weapons you want to max out and use the most. As with previous games of the series, you also collect orbs for health, mana, and you can even collect ‘sacrifices’ to upgrade your stat bars. Just when you need a break from all the killing – that’s where the platforming sessions are thrown in. God Of War 3 is filled with puzzle sections that are not super hard but do require you to think on your feet. The developers got the right balance in not overdoing it with too many ‘Slide the column here to spring the trap’ type games. The great thing about these puzzle sections are that they fit in with part of the story so everything you were doing actually makes sense.

The only negatives about the gameplay would be the double-jumping and the camera system. The jumping was not responsive for me and I found myself getting frustrated as the deaths kept rolling-in because of it. The simple double-tap just didn’t produce that double jump experience and, at times, almost ended in getting the controller turned off. As with most action games, the camera can be your worst enemy and this game is no different. Nothing is more frustrating then being in a room filled with enemies only to have your view obstructed due to the camera being in an awkward position. While these complaints are small they can produce some pretty high frustration factor!

When you finish the game you would think it ends right there but, alas, there is always more to do! Hitting those end credits unlocks some challenge modes that keep the game going for some blood-filled fun. These challenges are by no means easy and are meant more for the hardcore player.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND:
The game is simply beautiful to look at and really shows the power of the PlayStation 3 console. The graphics were flawless and it was refreshing to see it all done with the in-game engine. Every environment made you feel like you were walking right alongside Kratos in his journey. Certain environments, like the underworld, had some shocking environmental graphics that you just need to see for yourself. The team really outdid themselves with not only the scope of the game but just how pleasing to the eye it is. God Of War 3 is also one of the most violent games on the market today. It is a M-rated game for a reason and the kill scenes are fantastic to watch. Something new to this series is the ability to be in the shoes of certain people in the game that Kratos removes from the world with extreme prejudice. There were times where people watching me play actually cringed at those moments because it really felt like you were getting the hell beat out of you.

The sound and voice acting in the game is nothing short of fantastic. With a great voice cast you really feel that these characters have this certain power to them. The voices were believable and really sold their dialogue. You want to close your eyes and believe that a video game is not just on your screen when you are listening to it. The music in the game sets each mood from dread to hope and was a pleasure to listen to.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
God OF War 3 is simply put a must-buy for any video game lover. If you were waiting for that one triple-A title to come out before you buy your PS3, well this is it Shogunites. A great story, great action, and blood soaked violence awaits you on Mount Olympus!

Samsung 2233RZ 120Hz LCD Review

2010/03/28

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The first 120Hz LCD on the market, which is also Nvidia’s choice for bundled-monitor in their ‘3D Vision Bundle Pack’, is the Samsung 2233RZ. The monitor provides for a huge leap forward in your gaming experience, both with and without Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology, thanks to its high refresh rate.

DESIGN
The 22-inch 2233RZ features an all-black plastic body and glossy-black base unit which simply snaps onto the the LCD panel. The panel is a bit spartan from the front, but the back-side features more black plastic, albeit with the Samsung flower embossing – the unit would look great on a desk in the front office. Also included in the box is a DVI-D cable (needed to get the full 120Hz – single link cables only yield up to 75Hz), power cable, and a cable sorter. Installing the monitor onto the base, as mentioned before, is simple a matter of snapping the two together. The monitor is also Energy Star compliant, so go green people!

Samsung has also included their SyncMaster presets for gaming, movie watching, etc which are all easily-accessible via the panel’s control buttons which are located on the lower right area of the side of the unit. These presets make it easy to get the best viewing configuration possible without having to go through the minutiae of setting it all up yourself.

SPECS
* 1680 by 1050 Native Resolution
* 300 cd/m2 Brightness
* 20,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
* 170o/160o (CR&gt;10) Viewing Angle
* GTG 3ms (3D) / 5ms(2D) of Response Time
* 120Hz Dual Engine
* HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection)
* DVI-D (Digital Interface)

USAGE
After getting things connected up and the panel snapped to its base unit, the only thing left to do is to set the monitor refresh rate to 120Hz in the Nvidia control panel software. Immediately, the effect of the high refresh rate is noticeable. Even something as simple as moving your mouse cursor around the screen takes on new life – the little cursor seems to glide and is far smoother in terms of movement than it seemed in 60Hz. Also offered in the Nvidia control panel software is the ability to run the monitor at 100Hz and 110Hz, just in case any fluorescent lighting in the area is causing some flickering when using the 3D Vision technology.

Starting up Left 4 Dead 2, it is very apparent that, even without using the 3D Vision glasses, games will never be the same again. In case you don’t know, L4D2 is a game where players take on hordes of the walking (and sometimes running) dead as they make their way to safe houses on the road to escaping whatever area they are in. When the action gets heated, it is not uncommon to have around 40 or more zombies on the screen at one time. On my previous display, even while playing at 1920×1200 resolution at 60Hz, the undead’s frantic movement never seemed realistically smooth – even while getting good frame rates. With the 2233RZ, this is no longer an issue – the undead move far more smoothly than before, giving the game a whole new visual quality. In fact, in subsequent tests with Crysis and even Dragon Age: Origins, everything looked smoother. 120Hz is my new refresh rate of choice for gaming – on-screen motion is just so much more natural it has to be seen to be believed.

The biggest issues with the panel are its lack of an HDMI port and low native resolution. Even at 1680×1050, it would have been great to get video input via an HDMI cable. The screen is generally very crisp and I, for one, would have loved to watch some Blu-Ray disks on the unit. The second issue is that while Samsung’s 2233SW is their non-120Hz monitor offering, it supports a native resolution of 1920×1080 – while the 120Hz 2233RZ has a native resolution of 1680×1050. The 1920×1080 resolution is far-crisper for gaming but, more importantly, is a high-definition video resolution (as in 1080p). The 2233RZ would have blown my head right off its shoulders if it offered both of these features and would be a hands-down must-buy monitor.

When moving into the third-dimension of gaming, the monitor works flawlessly with Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology. There were no issues to speak of in terms of compatibility or performance when using the 3D system. If you choose to purchase the 3D Vision Bundle Pack, you should not be disappointed.

OVERALL
Unfortunately for Samsung, some new 120Hz displays have been released to market, from companies like Acer and Alienware, which feature larger panels, higher native resolutions, and higher dynamic contrast ratios. While this gives the 2233RZ some serious competition, one thing that the 2233RZ has over these competitors is that it is cheapest option in terms of price point. Currently the 2233RZ retails for about $300 dollars while the competitors go for at least $100 dollars more. I suspect that, at some point in the near future, Samsung will reduce the price even more to capitalize on this while eventually releasing their own, newer 24-inch 120Hz solution.

The Samsung 2233RZ is a fine 120Hz gaming monitor that offers good performance at the lowest price on the market. However, it does lack some features which are present on higher-priced monitors out there, so the choice is yours as to how much these features are worth to you.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Announced with Debut Trailer

2010/03/25

Atari and CD Project RED have released the first official trailer for the upcoming sequel to The Witcher, titled The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The game features an all-new combat system as well as a built-from-the-ground-up game engine promising some really impressive visuals.

While they do not mention a release date, they do mention that it will be a very ‘mature’ experience – like I like!

Believed Trailer Released for Dead to Rights: Retribution

2010/03/24

NAMCO BANDAI has released a new trailer for their upcoming third-person actioner, Dead to Rights: Retribution. The game is due out on April 27th for the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms. It will feature the return of both Shadow and Jack Slate from the previous title and promises to introduce more moral dilemmas to the player this time around.

MotoGP 09/10 Released Across North America

2010/03/24