Author - Ripper71

E3 Preview of White Knight Chronicles 2 (PS3)

2011/06/11

Created exclusively for the PS3 White Knight Chronicles 2 from D3Publisher features a very nice variety of customization, excellent cutscenes and in play graphics. In the game you battle evil forces while taking characters from your single player campaign into a expansive multiplayer gaming experience with up to six other players online. The developers improved gameplay mechanics from the first game based on fan requests such as the ability to create and customize your very own Incorruptus (a unique knight) and an enhanced battle system that makes battles faster paced and dynamic. Players can create their own unique combat style with more than 400 new armor and weapon choices and new abilities such as charge attacks, dash attacks and dual wielding weapons. The game also feature a massive online mode extending the gameplay beyond the story of the game with up to six players on new quests and challenges. If that isn’t enough the game comes with a remaster of the original game with the ability to transfer your character from the first to the sequel giving you a total of over 100 hours of playtime.

E3 Impressions:

The game was demo’d for me one on one so that I was able to get a really good look at it but didn’t get a chance to feel the response of the controls. The story is told really well through some excellent looking cutscenes (the cutscenes were assigned to a whole different company to make them as amazing as possible). Classes are pretty standard for a fantasy RPG: tank, melee and healer styles for groups and though very nice looking, the game did look quite a bit like some of the more famous titles of the genre. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if a game looks and plays like the best of the genre then you are doing something right but it also means it is a little harder to stand out from the pack. What helps that a bit is the strategy in battle is greatly determined by damage being based primarily on distance affecting accuracy and discovering the strategic weakness of the enemy. One of the improvements from the previous title’s original system is respawning at quest check points instead of death location to help avoid spawn camping. I really like the ability to customize armor and your knight, it is a simple thing but really helps make the adventure feel like your own. Another thing to help with that is the ability for you to build your own town and invite friends online to hang out in it with you. I remember in a very similar game a while back that I was able to own my own house and it is things like that that make it so that you feel that much more tied to the game.

The Last Call:

This is a really good looking game with promises of over 100 hours of play time plus a good amount of customization and online play giving a really nice value. I’m not sure if it stands out enough from other games of the same genre to bring in new players but fans of the first game should flock to it. Their requests were heard and this is a chance to not just play your favorite creation from the first game but to also bring your knight into brand new adventures.

E3 Preview of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (XBLA, PS3)

2011/06/11

Ripper71

E3, News, Previews

This arcade shooter is one that probably flew under a lot of people’s radar but definitely deserves a look at. Set in the not too distant future it is the job of you and your teammates to defend Earth from giant insects and alien ships. At your disposal is over 300 different weapons and vehicles to take on thousands of swarming enemies in a fully destroyable city. There are four different classes to choose from, two more than the previous game in the series and three campaigns with five missions each. Campaign mode allows up to four players and Survival mode allows up to six. Split screen local play and multiple difficulty levels including “Inferno” combine with the class and weapon choices to make the game replayable over and over. At a value price of $39.99 and with a release date of July 5th you can be defending New Detroit in no time.

E3 Hands-on Impressions:

This game got addictive fast. I was playing Co-Op with one other person on the XBLA version, I was “Tactical” and he was “Battle” with AI filling out the other two positions as “Jetpack” and “Trooper.” “Tactical” was the more “new to the series” class and it showed as I started racking up a massive score and destroying everything in sight. The specialty of my class was the ability to drop turrets to aid me and homing missiles. One of the aspects I really liked was how much you relied on your teammates. If you died a teammate could come over and revive you and if any teammate hit a health cube then the whole team benefited from it. They learned early in development that players would fight over who hit the health cubes so they just made it so that it helped everyone. With each teammate having a specialty staying together and covering each other not only increased survivability it also allowed for quicker revivals. My teammate found and jumped into a mech which did beautiful damage and helped tear through the level and demonstrated some nice and easy to learn vehicle play.

The graphics looked nice, modeling was excellent and there were no issues with graphic quality or breaking even when getting heavily swarmed by giant ants or laser blasts from above. The graphics aren’t groundbreaking but they are really nicely detailed and it is always fun to have a destroyable environment. The enemies were fairly diverse, though I took a certain extra pleasure from taking out the giant ants since they reminded me of the old school monster movies when you would see giant insects fighting the Army. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the game and testing out the mech and running through all the different weapons available and finding the strengths and weaknesses of each class more.

Last Call:

This game is a fun addictive arcade shooter that you can play with your friends or alone and still have a really good time. The price is right and the game play is clean and solid and includes multiplayer. I’m looking forward to this game coming out and getting a chance to run the whole game through the paces. And I want to blow up more giant ants.

Ben 10 Races Through E3

2011/06/10

Ripper71

E3, News, Previews

There is so much to see at E3 that some very good and not so flashy booths of games get lost in the shadow of giants. One such booth was D3 Publishing that has brought out some nicely polished fun games this year, one of which is BEN 10 Galactic Racing. This game has a pretty wide appeal since it is based off Cartoon Network’s popular BEN 10 Universe putting characters and their abilities to the test in a kart racing game.

This idea may throw some folks for a moment, kart racing and iconic characters not known for kart racing can be a recipe for disaster (Star Wars Super Bombad Racing anyone?). Luckily this is not one of those cases, just as the Mario universe kart games before it. You get to race as Ben, Kevin or one of 13 aliens in high speed kart racing trips across 5 planets on 25 different tracks. Your main offensive and defensive powers are based off of your chosen character’s abilities in the Ben 10 universe but slightly modified to work in a kart racing environment. Ben changes into his different forms and he does different trademark attacks while still fitting into his kart seat and all participants can do drifts and jump tricks to improve their powerups The game can accommodate up to 4 players and can be great fun to play for fans of the BEN 10 franchise and kart racing in general. It will be available across platforms, with a special exclusive hero Diamondhead on the Nintendo DS, later this fall.

E3 Impressions:

Having gotten a chance to go hands on with this game during E3 I found it to be a whole lot of fun. Some of the karts and some of the gameplay may remind you of another kart game with iconic characters shooting shells at each other and that is just fine. To be compared to the best kart games is a compliment and means that you are keeping good company. Breaking down the game will sound a lot like a review from that most successful kart racing game because what made it good is what makes this one good. The controllers are intuitive, I picked it up and away I went tearing my way through the level. There are multiple race styles that can be implemented and the kart’s game play and mechanics allow for all of them. Are you a really good drifter? You can drift and rack up power that way. Are you one of those people who love to do aerial tricks? Bust them right and get yourself some powerups! Prefer to bump your opponents and blast the ones who make it past you or maybe you like to throw up a shield and go full throttle? The game allows for all of these and every one is smoothly achievable. The game makes picking up the controller and busting your way through the course lots of fun, so much so that while I was demo’ing it a small group started watching and going ” get him get him!” and “nice move!” Admittedly I am no stranger to kart racing, it is my wife’s favorite type of console game and I WILL get this game for her so we can play together, laugh our butts off and have her kick my ass. It is a game that screams “play me!” with a friend.

Back to discussing it though the tracks are also a lot of fun. Based off the BEN 10 universe fans get a chance to see some of the planets and places in a different way. One of the really fun and more difficult tracks was the one that runs around a desolate prison planet with lots of hills and jumps with missing guard rails while high in the air so that a wrong turn, or not noticing you have to turn, will send you flying to your respawn. Respawn is quick and puts you right back into the action and you still have a chance at finishing the game not too badly. The design of the background planets that don’t necessarily effect the play are really good and some tracks even have see through sections so you get a chance to check them out while not losing your lead.

The play system is exceptionally done in the game and the track designs are very creative. The fact is though there are a lot of racing games out there, there doesn’t seem to a whole lot of good kart racing games being produced. But I found BEN 10 Galactic Racing to be one of the good ones. If you like to get the advantage by taking out an enemy in front of you with a blast or slow down the kart drafting off you with some sticky track while still having your drifts and doing kart tricks off of ramps this game is definitely work picking up. All it takes is liking kart racing or the BEN 10 universe to want this game.

Snoop Dogg Helps Announce Yoostar On MTV

2011/06/09

Ripper71

Articles, E3, News

Snoop Dogg made a guest appearance at E3 to help Yoostar announce they are joining forces with MTV to fulfill the dreams of pop culture fans and gamers alike by giving them the opportunity to star in some of the most iconic scenes to ever hit the cable TV station. Additionally, some of the best music videos of the last several decades will be playable in Yoostar on MTV. This includes videos from the visiting Snoop Dogg who gave a brief endorsement before greeting some of the media.
Features included in Yoostar On MTV:
o    Developed in conjunction with MTV Networks
o    80 clips on the disk from the following areas:
o    TV – Classics, Reality, Original Programming, Previews of new shows
o    Music Videos
o    Video Backgrounds – News, Award Shows, Interview Sets
o    VGS 2.0, which introduces the next revolution in virtual green screen:
o    Extensive improvement in the users’ image quality in low, medium and optimal lighting conditions.
o    New blending, smoothing and color correction techniques make the player feel and look like they’re really embedded into the scene!
o    Improved masking techniques provide a more solid image, minimizing pixilation and hair “dropout”.
o    Full support of the Xbox 360 4GB Console, giving players the ability to watch replays, save and upload their scenes.
o 50 awesome challenges designed around MTV programs.
o    Weekly DLC (downloadable content) focused on scenes, sets, and scene packs.
o    Upload performances directly to Yoostar Playground, Facebook, and Twitter.
o    Be a part of the Yoostar Playground online community, rate and award your fellow Yoostars’ uploaded clips, all while earning fame, boosts, and Yoobucks. Add comments, enter contests and rise up the leaderboard ladder.

There will also be an update to Yoostar 2 coming in about a month to improve the virtual green screen technology. Before long anyone with a XBox and a Kinect will be able to fist pump on Jersey Shore or enjoy the Dogg’s video life.

E3 Impressions: Snoop’s arrival at the booth caused a bit of a media mini riot, so he understandably was mostly kept in a booth with a glass window then left pretty quickly afterwards. The Yoostar folks are very happy about their product, which they should be. The first Yoostar game was a nice accomplishment bringing green screen technology, which was mostly the game of networks and higher end companies, into a home kit at an affordable rate. They did not have a whole lot of time to get all of the compatibility issues worked out on the Kinect system but were able to make very good use of the newest technology. Though it doesn’t quite look like you have stepped into the movie due to “halo” issues on the current version of Yoostar 2, the next patch promises to make improvements so that eventually you can truly be proud when you post your images on the Yoostar Playground for friends and strangers to rate and berate.

Unreal Engine 3 Used For ‘Fable: The Journey’

2011/06/06

Ripper71

E3, News

Microsoft Studios, Lionhead Studios and Epic Games, Inc. announced that Lionhead is developing “Fable: The Journey” using Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine 3. Revealed during the Xbox 360 E3 2011 Media Briefing, “Fable: The Journey” is poised to take the action-adventure series to Kinect for Xbox 360.

“In using the Unreal Engine with its excellent tools for crafting cinematic in-game experiences, it allows our developers to focus on the quality and uniqueness of ‘Fable: The Journey,'” said Peter Molyneux, creative director of Lionhead Studios and Microsoft Game Studios Europe. “Already we are seeing a more beautiful, vivid and unique world full of dramatic moments and have crafted new, never seen before gameplay experiences.”

“The world of Albion has always been a beautiful place, and Lionhead embellishing it using the bells and whistles of Unreal Engine 3 makes it even more magical,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Furthermore, Lionhead truly impresses with their proficiency for Kinect, with intuitive and natural feeling player interactions using voice and gesture controls in demonstrations we have seen firsthand. That gripping experience combined with stunning UE3 visuals truly make this is a world-class union of imagination and technology.”

Atari Releases New Ghostbusters: Sanctum Of Slime DLC Pack

2011/06/01

Ripper71

Articles, E3, News

As a follow up to the first ever Ghostbusters digital title , Atari is releasing additional downloadable content – Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Challenge Pack, bringing hours of new single player action to the title with two game modes on the Xbox 360, and Windows PC on Steampowered.com.

Specific highlights from the Challenge Pack include:

· Arcade Challenge: Designed for seasoned gamers, Aracade Challenge gives players a limited number of lives to see how their skills line up on a distinct Global Leaderboard. Players run through 5 of the game’s most challenging levels in single player mode and once the lives are up, the game is over. Player scores are automatically posted to a new real-time Leaderboard.
· Lonely Hero: Players can select any level they have unlocked and start from there but this time you are on your own – no co-op, no friendly teammates- just one player to combat the waves of the paranormally possessed.

Developed by Behavior Studios, Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime Challenge Pack will be available on June 1, 2011 for $1.99 or 160 Microsoft Points.

EverQuest II: The Children of War Update Now Available

2011/05/31

Ripper71

Articles, News

Sony Online Entertainment has released the 60th game update for their MMO, EverQuest II. This new updated features a whole host of updates, all of which you can read about below – enjoy!

Game Update 60 Includes:

PvP & Battlegrounds improvements, including but not limited to:

Lobby system so players can hang together between matches with PvP merchants available locally
New Velious battleground map (“The Frozen Tundra”)
New Battleground game type (“Vanquish!”)
PvP and Battlegrounds rule modifications for better balance and fun
Fame system improvements
New Velious Discord faction to purchase new PvP equipment and adornments
Additional new PvP armor and adornments

Itemization:

New Adornments interface to make this system easier to understand
Continued honing of the itemization system

Drunder*:
Three new heroic dungeons:

Confront Warmaster Grolla Skullwielder in the Spire of Rage
Challenge Warmaster Korok Hai in the Strategist’s Stronghold
Battle Warmaster Deynka Packlasher in the Tower of Tactics

One new x2 raid – Citadel of V’uul

Defeat Queen Vorticia V’uul in the Citadel of V’uul

Three new x4 raids [all available in Normal and Challenge modes]:

Encounter Sullon Zek in Sullon’s Spire
Test your strength against Tallon Zek in Tallon’s Stronghold
Prove yourself against Vallon Zek in Vallon’s Tower

Additional Content:

Visit Whipmaster Snargeant in the Fortress of Drunder to assist with new daily missions within Drunder
Speak to Provocateur Bas Darkfrost at Thurgadin Docks to earn Primal Velium Shards through a new solo quest
Two new heritage quests
Additional signature quest line
New tradeskill quests and recipes
New adornments interface
Ratonga players will find Qeynos has become more accepting of their presence
And Coming Soon: Help build the wizard and druid transportation network in Velious

*NOTE: Drunder content is locked to DoV expansion owners only. All other GU content affects all players.

CD Projekt RED and GOG to Reveal Big News at “CDP Summer Days”

2011/05/28

Ripper71

E3, News

CD Projekt RED creator of The Witcher series and its sister company GOG.com, the digital distribution platform for DRM-free PC games, are going to reveal some big news just before E3 at their “CDP Summer Days” live from Los Angeles. The announcements will be made on June 2 at 12:00pm pst at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cdp-summer-days.

CD Projekt RED will be making a big announcement about their next upcoming title and have some other exciting things to share during their Summer Days livecast. CDP RED will discuss some of the successes of the recent launch of The Witcher 2, and will also map out a plan for continued support for the new title. GOG.com has already teased that during the CDP Days 2011 Spring Conference they will reveal a new deal with one of five big publishers still not signed with them: Microsoft, Lucas Arts, Electronic Arts, Square Enix or Take2. During the live stream GOG.com will reveal the name of the publisher and the first games out of the batch of 25+ titles that will be released throughout summer 2011 at GOG.com. Both GOG.com and CD Projekt RED representatives will be available for interviews at E3.

Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (XBLA)

2011/05/25

Ripper71

News, Reviews

This game has an immense appeal to a certain kind of gamer geek. If you have ever owned a set of dice with more than six sides, ever spent a whole weekend with a group of friends locked in a room together with pencil and paper on the table in front of you listening to a friend hidden behind a cardboard blind narrating a tale or heck ever stepped on a four-sided die then you probably know that special feeling that you can get when someone mentions “Daggerdale”. A place of rich history tucked away in The Forgotten Realms, it is a great setting for the current land of storytelling and adventuring: video games. Not that video games are new, or that this is the first time that the Forgotten Realms have been remembered and brought to life in digital glory, but it marks the first attempt to incorporate Fourth Edition rules into a console hack and slash environment. Just the nature of the platform will cause a bit of simplification, too much detailed play can not only be taxing on the system but can also but taxing on the player who is trying to use a limited number of controls to navigate a massive world. There is nothing wrong with this at all as long as the developers can give the player the feel of the Dungeons & Dragons world while still making it fun to play.

Atmosphere:

The cutscenes aren’t quite as engaging as I would have liked, they consisted of concept art being dissolved between but it still worked and the voice acting was not bad. When you enter the game itself it actually gets more engaging with excellent graphics, toned down music that is usually just underneath and mellow until a massive fight begins then it raises in volume and tempo. The main time when this breaks down is when talking to npcs. They just make a series of inarticulate grunting noises while words scroll by on the screen. Now this is not completely uncommon in console games as a means of saving space but even if they just said a “what can I help you with” or better yet no sound at all then the immersiveness into the game would have been far easier. As a player we can overlook no voice acting or bad voice acting but grunting is just strange. Luckily as soon as you find yourself running through the dungeon halls you forget all about it again.

Game Play:

There are three types of game play and four types of characters to choose from. There is solo campaign, local co-op campaign and online multiplayer co-op campaign. Solo campaign is pretty self explanatory, local co-op is split screen and multiplayer co-op online is up to four players. The four characters you have to choose from are a human warrior, elf rogue, dwarf cleric and halfling wizard. While at first this might seem limiting, race doesn’t really play that much of a factor and they are well designed. Let’s face it though most of you knew all that months ago. What you want to know is how it actually plays. It plays really, really smooth. Camera angles shift but are easily adjusted and the controls are excellent at response time and angle. The only problem I really found was that the game starts off hard really early so save a lot. If you are in the middle of a quest chain and you die it starts you back at the beginning of the chain which is a bummer and may get fixed, but it also causes the chests and barrels you raid for supplies to re-pop so it is a wash bordering on a benefit. The only real problem with that is failing the same quest at the same point and having to restart the chain again can get old, but you may find yourself facing it with a better purchased piece of gear or a better drop. Also you find you can grind a bit on the goblins so that you have a bit more strength when you get to the wicked looking and harder hitting skeletons.Online play hasn’t really gotten out of the gates yet due to how new the game is. When playing online you can choose between a new character or the one you have been campaigning with so if you have already grown attached you can bring your favorite out to play. During my playtime there were no glitches or lag issues so even though the load screens and cutscenes may be a bit dull, your in level action with be smooth and a beautiful sight to see. The Fourth Edition Rules are built into the equipment drops, damage and skill systems so that a true P&P geek will feel the rules in play but a console jockey will just hack and slash along for the ride. They did an excellent job making a console game with a PC D&D look and style

Playtime/Cost:

Playtime is really hard to figure, it depends on builds, play style, replayability which this game has at least four times, one for each class, not to mention online play and local co-op AND if you get stuck on a quest. But at $15 it is cheaper than a hardcover editions of the rules it is based on so I would say it is incredibly worth the money! And it is a good by for D&D geeks and console jockeys alike (if they aren’t the same person in your household).

The Good:

Great graphics, great game play, smooth controls, melded Fourth Edition rules in seemlessly.

The Bad:

Questlines have to be repeated if a quest fails. Could have used better cutscenes and less NPC grunting.

Last Call:

My inner geek is comfortable without a pencil for the time being and no paper is in sight. I will go right back to playing some more Daggerdale after finishing this review and know that the developers and publishers didn’t bring us another NeverWinter Nights but they didn’t really bring us a NeverWinter Nights 2 either! (yep, I said it). Instead they gave us a nice solid D&D game I can use to run my XBox through the paces and one that already has me looking forward to a sequel.

Side Note:

And if my cousin Aaron is reading this – back in 1982, when the succubus gave you the Kiss of Death she had shown plenty of amoral and downright evil behavior prior to that and you died due to your hormones. Accept it.

Bangai-O HD Missile Fury (XBLA)

2011/05/21

Ripper71

News, Reviews

Summary:

Bangai-O HD Missile Fury is the latest installment of a game series dating back to the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast over 20 years ago. Should it have been scrapped sometime over the years? Well I will let the big secret out right now… no! This game is great!

The Good:
Crazy missile attacks, great power ups, over 100 levels, addictive!

The Bad:
Hard from the start, addictive!

Atmosphere:
Atmosphere consists of level backgrounds and musical scores all which get lost quick in the really, really fast-paced action. They are well done and very nicely detailed but they for the most part channel the action and compliment the game play.

Game Play:
This shooter is one of the most over the top massively insane shooters I have ever played in 35 years of gaming. That may sound like a bold statement, and it is. It may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn’t. This games sole purpose is creating as many missiles, weapons and enemies as possible to attack you and giving you massive weapons, skills and missiles to attack back with. It doesn’t worry about story lines or cutscenes, it just makes an addictive overwhelming fighting game where strategic weapon use makes the difference between completing a level or restarting it in less than 30 seconds. Each level creates it’s own challenges to completion and tends to lead you to use a different weapon in different way so the fighting doesn’t get repetitive. Also the game has you try to beat a level three times then gives you the option to skip it and go back later if you like. The only problem with this is how addictive the game is and each level is. It just takes hitting a couple buttons after you die to be right back in the action trying a different technique to slam through the level. You had better have a clock nearby or an alarm set because you will lose track of time so fast that hours pass before you know it. Add a friend to the action and it just doubles the fun. Having a gaming night with friends? This game is great to play and extremely fun to watch.

Graphics/Audio:
Graphics is where this game could have very easily have wound up getting overwhelmed with the thousands of detailed missiles and rays flying all over the screen and it would have been easy for the explosions to actually cause audio errors. The graphics are so smooth that the death screen shows a clear view of all the action at that moment and you can save the play through and watch it back later. The screens between levels are a throwback to early graphic systems because all the beauty and detail is reserved for the battles.

Think You Can Do Better?:
If you think you can build a better level or just fancy yourself the creative type you can try your hand at building maps and levels that you can then share with your friends. At this time you can only share your custom designs with your friends list but maybe that will change sometime.

Playtime/Cost:
This game with over 100 levels, level building, multiplayer mode is only 800 points ($10). Hours of playtime and replayability makes this a steal.

Last Call:
Bangai-O HD Missile Fury is great, packed full of action and crazy amounts of missiles and mayhem and all at a great price. I can’t wait for the next one!

*DISCLOSURE: A copy of this game was sent to us for the purpose of this review.