Top 10 Games of E3

E3 comes and goes every year showing us promise of new games and often times surprises us with wild announcements and megaton news. This year was different though, there weren’t as many surprises. Sure, it was technically bigger than last year in scope, but it didn’t feel bigger. Although the size of E3 may differ, there is one colossal thing about E3 that stays consistent… the top 10 lists that come out after it.

10. Infamous – PS3

With it’s comic style and proven developer Infamous is one of the games to watch in 09. And hey, you have to look out for a game that allows you to manipulate electricity and climb all over everything. Infamous may raise the bar for superhero games.

9. Fable II – X360

Peter Molyneux often makes outlandish promises and doesn’t quite deliver. Well, I had always hoped hardware had held him back. Now on Xbox 360, he has a great place to deliver on all the promises he made for Fable. And it actually looks like he’s going to deliver.

8. Resistance 2 – PS3

Insomniac is the only developer in the industry who can consistently pump out great games in short time periods, and it looks like they’ll repeat that with R2. All you need to do is take a look of the video of the boss fight they showed at E3 to be sold.

7. Resident Evil 5 – X360, PS3

“It’s RE4 on steroids,” is what one developer said about RE5, and it looks like he’s going to be right. RE5’s enemies are stronger… like say everyone’s favorite burlap sack wearing chainsaw killer being faster than before. Oh, and the inclusion of co-op looks like it’ll work really well.

6. Gears of War 2 – X360

The original Gears of War was Game of the Year, so there isn’t much improving you can do… but Epic has found a way to make the sequel even more appealing with the 5 player co-op Horde mode. Wave after wave of enemies will continue to attack your party of chainsaw wielding badasses.

5. Prince of Persia – PS3, X360

Prince of Persia is finally coming to next gen with a smart AI partner, epic battles that resemble duels,  a nre art style, and all the platforming that we loved in the original trilogy. It truly looks like one of the best games of 2008.

4. KillZone 2 – PS3

KillZone 2 already looked like a big hit for Sony’s third system, but now it looks even better thanks to it’s class based multiplayer with an even interesting badge system.

3. Spore – PC

Spore is Spore. It looks good anytime you see it and is a strong Game of the Year contender, and after all, you can’t doubt Will Wright.

2. Left 4 Dead – X360, PC

It’s very simple. Left 4 Dead will redefine co-op gameplay.

1. Fat Princess – PS3 (PSN)

By far the most original game to come out of E3. Get this, it’s an online game… but to win you have to feed the opposing team’s princess enough cake and food till she gets fat. Then, watch the opposing team group together to try to lift her large bum back to their base while your team goes crazy with glee. Genius.

Metal Gear Solid 4: A Review

A system seller. That’s what many are calling, and have called, Metal Gear Solid 4. And well, it seems that it is. As we are all now well aware, Sony bundled in MGS4 with PS3 systems this summer and it has payed off. According to NPD data the PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 in the month of June… no… it demolished it. 

Metal Gear Solid 4 is the fourth game in Konami’s Metal Gear Solid franchise and is considered to be director Hideo Kojima’s game magnum opus, but does the game deliver on all the hype that has followed it? Yes, yes it does. 

This review is a long time coming and is now out of date in the ever moving games industry, but it must be done. MGS4 has received a lot of perfect scores, and sure it’s a great game, but it is not perfect. Please do not interpret those scores as perfect, cause they don’t reflect that. What they reflect is the overlooking of issues in the grand scheme of things.

First, the cut scenes in MGS4 take a looong time to wade through. This is not a game you pop in to quickly play a level or finish a boss. It’s literally impossible. You’re going to need at least 30 minutes, maybe longer, to set aside to play this game. As most have said, it’s like playing a movie. In fact, the final cutscene may qualify as a short film… running at around 30 – 40 minutes long. 

Second, there’s quite a length install time before you play it. There are also small install times in between each act. Though I feel that this is a small issue. Sure, it was annoying as hell waiting to get to the next part in this grand tale of Solid Snake’s final mission… but it was forgotten soon after I got to playing again.

And oh boy, it is good when you get to playing again. The controls are smooth, the graphics are amazing, and everything just feels so right. If there was a game that simulated real life well, it could be this. Interacting with objects and the AI of the guards all earn high marks and are great fun to play with. The cut scenes thrown in between gameplay bits… or maybe gameplay thrown in between cut scenes… just add to the bad assery, especially since they’re all done with the in game engine. 

There is one major new addition to the series though, and that comes in the form of Drebin. He’s an arms dealer that allows you to basically buy ammunition and guns for all your weapons at any point in time. Though some may feel that this is cheap, it allows you to attack any scenario in the game any way you wish. It opens up choice to each and every player so that they are not forced to beat the game or go through levels in one particular way. 

That’s the major addition, but the major evolution is presentation. This game truly does lift the bar for presentation in a video game. The musical score, the direction, and the cinematics are all of Hollywood quality. It truly is amazing to see how far this medium has grown in the past 10 years. It’s just mind blowing.

The story may be a bit mind blowing as well, sure it’s a bit convoluted but it ties up most, if not all, of the loose ends in the first three of the series. Oh, and don’t worry, for those that are new to the series it does a good job of summarizing past events, though you won’t get all the nitty gritty details that many fans of MGS love. If you are a fan of MGS though, you will love this game. There are so many hidden easter eggs and and moments that are referenced from past games it’ll make you giggle with glee. And there’s one moment in particular that bring nostalgia right to your front door.

There’s only one way to summarize this game, for both fans of the series and people who haven’t yet checked out the series, for both PS3 owners and non-PS3 owners, and that summarization is simple: system seller.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Grand Theft Auto IV: A Review

Grand Theft Auto IV descended on the game industry like a plague of locust and took up most of the gaming time most gamers on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have. But how does it hold up after almost a month of gameplay? Well, it finally got kicked out of the first spot on the Xbox Live top ten. In fact, it got kicked down all the way to number three.

That’s right, people have gone back to playing Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on Xbox Live. With that, I think it’s a good point to start on the multiplayer side.

Essentially, multiplayer is a two trick pony. There’s free mode and cops n’ crooks, the games version of cops and robbers, and everything else really isn’t worth mentioning. Sure, there are races and deathmatches and other crap like that, but none of it is as fun as free mode or cops n’ crooks.

Cops n’ crooks is a relatively simple idea that turns out copious amounts of fun. There are two sides: the cops, and the crooks. The crooks have to escort their VIP to a getaway vehicle and the cops have to stop them. The catch is the cops can see the crooks on the radar but not where they are going. They also start out in a cop car. In most games, this would be a main online game mode, but in GTA it’s just one of many, although one of the only ones worth coming back to.

Free mode is free mode. Whatever fun you have by yourself in Liberty City can be replicated with your friends online. That’s where this mode shines the most: with friends. There is almost nothing like it in online multiplayer today. Just log on and mess around with your friends. Simple and highly effective.

Single player is also a bit of a mixed bag. Although the city is technically impressive and the story is compelling enough to push you along there are a few things that detract from game playing. The whole friends system is a nice concept and it’s wonderful to get the extras some of them offer for your friendship, I can’t stop the feeling that it gets annoying at times. When you’re about to do a mission or finishing a game session and going back to your safehouse to save they’ll call. If you don’t pick up it effects your relationship and you might lose some perks. And if you pick up and decline an offer to hang out it also hurts them.

The friends don’t call a lot, but towards the end you begin to rack up quite a stable of friends and it does get a bit annoying when they all start calling. On top of this there are quite a few girls that you can date, and they contact you even more frequently than your friends. Though this is all quite realistic in terms of appropriating time to handle all of your matters, I don’t think going too realistic is the best for Grand Theft Auto. It just begins to feel like too much at one point and you begin to do away with relationships altogether.

As I said, the main story is a compelling one of Niko Belic. I’d rather not spoil much of the story, but it’s a coming to America story at it’s core. Niko is probably one of the better characters in the franchise as he entertains with one liners throughout and is deep enough to care about. The other characters too, although not as deep, lend themselves to be cared about enough. The one complaint that could be said about the main story is that you’ll be doing what are essentially training missions for the first 50 + missions.

Getting around to those missions is quite a thrill with the new driving physics. It does feel a tad more realistic though it could ruin the fun for some as you can’t drive like a crazy madman as effectively. In fact, all the new physics are put to good use. Especially the “oh crap” moments where you’re blowing things to hades.

There’s plenty to do in Liberty City even if you don’t care for the story missions, and that’s what makes this game so great. Hell, that’s what has made this series great. The cornucopia of choices that you have in what you can do. You can play this game any way you like and extract as much fun as you can from this game. And that is what sets Grand Theft Auto apart from most other games.

Though the number of choices from San Andreas aren’t present, it’s a large enough choice to keep you occupied for at least two months.

Be warned however, as this splendid game is not without it’s limitations. Perfect this game is not. The combat system is pretty generic and both the auto aiming and aiming system leaves much to be desired. The cover system actually works very well and is the saving grace of any sort of combat, armed or unarmed, in this game. If you can bear that, you’ll love this game.

Score: 4 out of 5

Will Team NINJA suffer?

Tomonobu Itagaki, the famed developer who couldn’t resist coming with some controversy, has resigned from his position at Team NINJA on the eve of their biggest release in a long time: Ninja Gaiden 2.

This will not effect Team NINJA as much as you think it will. I’m sure of it.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma came out for the PS3 fine and Itagaki was not involved at all in it. Sure, it’s just a port, but the point is the Team NINJA team is still in tact.

Jason Rubin was called a visionary and an important part of Naughty Dog when they were at their highest point making the Jak and Daxter series. Then, Rubin left but Naughty Dog was able to hold it together and put out the very good Uncharted:Drakes Fortune for PlayStation 3.

I fully expect Ninja Gaiden 3 to come out and be good. And the biggest challenge towards Ninja Gaiden 3 isn’t the loss of Itagaki, it’s whether Team NINJA can fix that darn camera.

Taking on the Grid.

In between bouts of GTA4 I managed to download the new Grid demo and take it for a test drive. I had to, with Dirt being so fun I had to see if the guys at Codemasters could repeat their success with Grid.

And, I was surprised.

Playing Grid almost feels like watching an intense race scene in a Hollywood movie. I named my character and gave him the nickname ‘Chief,’ which invoked authoritative and cool at the same time, to me anyway.

I hoped in the BMW option of the three they give you and began the race.

This is when I adjusted my grip on the controller, as the camera panned to my vehicle and my crew chief told me the finish I had to do to get an achievement. I had to finish in a podium place. Simple enough, I think.

The race starts and I’m off. Zipping through cars in my Beemer until the first corner, where a collision of metal and glass sends almost bone crunching sounds through my speakers. My car is forced into a wall and takes damage on the left wheel and I now have trouble turning. I reverse quickly and off I go, leaving a trail of white smoke and the smell of burnt tires in my wake.

As I drive I notice a bumper fly off another car and land on the road clanking along as I speed past.

…and I smashed into the wall at 120 and effectively ended the race.

Though thanks to Grids replay system I was able to rewind the race a little, tap the X button on my 360, and start at that point. Once you crash you can also retire, though the game warns your reputation takes a hit if you do, or restart the race. I chose to restart.

As I raced my crew chief told me various things about the race like how damaged my vehicle was, who was in first place, how I was doing, and when I got into first how I should stay focused as I could win the race… and then I lost focused… didn’t make a great turn and effectively came in third. Shame, it was the last corner too.

Either way, the Grid demo is one worth checking out. So if you haven’t done so, please check if your system has the demo available and download it! Those crazy Brits can make racing games too.

Banjo drummin’ up some Spore

Almost every major gaming site has a spankin’ preview of Banjo – Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, and for good reason too.

Let’s face it, shall we? Rare has not delivered anything great since being purchased by Microsoft. They’ve had Conker, which was fun for a while, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, which got old quick, Viva Pinata, which was made for kids, and the ultra disappointing Perfect Dark Zero at the launch of the 360.

Well now Rare hopes to bring back another old property and breathe some life into a dying genre: platforming.

All the great platforming from before will return, but with a twist. In most platformers you gain an ability that lets you move on to new levels and such things, in Nuts and Bolts you create that new ability.

See, when you’re supposed to get a new ability or skill the game rewards you with a part. With these collected parts you get to create your own vehicle just like you would with Legos. This simple new dynamic will create a user-created unique game experience to everyone who plays Nuts and Bolts. It sounds very much like the core idea behind Will Wright’s next, Spore.

Oh, and like most games nowadays… Banjo will also include a multiplayer mode.

When it arrives later this year it should surely be something to look out for.

To read more on Banjo – Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, visit IGN’s preview here.

And here’s the new trailer.

Skate 2 announced

The sequel for the highly acclaimed Skate from EA has been announced today for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

I say… who didn’t see this coming? It’s almost a formality at this point.

Anyway, I’ve played The Bourne Conspiracy demo that came out a few days ago on Xbox Live, and I must say that game is intense. They’ve captured the visceral and quick hand to hand combat from the movies perfectly… although shh it’s supposed to be based on the books!

I now leave you with a trailer of Codemaster’s Grid… cause ya know it’s all about the cars:

WiiWare launches!

Nintendo’s WiiWare service has officially launched!

Here are the games that have launched with the service:

• LostWinds ($10)
• Defend Your Castle ($5)
• Pop ($7)
• TV Show King ($10)
• V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack ($7)
• Final Fantasy Chrystal Chronicles: My Life as a King ($15)

New KillZone 2 trailer.

What is this, E3? Why all the new game trailers and announcements so soon? Oh well, let’s take advantage. Please enjoy.

from ps3.ign.com posted with vodpod

LittleBigKillZonePlanet?

Yeah, I am not ashamed at all of saying that I really want to play this game… I don’t even know if I can express it in words… so… just watch.

from ps3.ign.com posted with vodpod