Finally, after hours of troubleshooting my new HD-PVR (how was I supposed to know the cables were defunct?) I finally made a test run with my new PVR with one of my favorite indie games, Tempura of the Dead.
Showing posts with label Demos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Demos. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Enjoying the Lost Planet 2 demo to death
Sequel to one of the 360s launch titles, Lost Planet, Lost Planet 2 was announced earlier this year as Capcom's surprise for 2009. I played the first one and it was good, but I never expected it to have the go ahead for a sequel. However, the demo proved me wrong, as the sequel looks like it's going to be upping the fun factor (if not sacrificing a big story).
Lost Planet 2 is takes place years after the first. The icy, frigid climate of E.D.N. III has thawed thanks to the hero of the first game and more suitable, temperate lands begin to appear. You play as a soldier in the NEVEC corporation who's still waging a war against the native insectoid monsters. Full details are sparse now, but the demo gives me this one basic feeling: Keep the combat of the first Lost Planet, add four player co-op and throw in big boss battles. As this is Capcom, I could only think of one thing while I was firing heavy ordinance at the giant salamander in the demo: Monster Hunter. The salamander has even been touted as a monster who isn't even the biggest in the game, and this one can still swallow you up and let you start shooting its guts.
The controls are still familiar from the first game. Third-person viewpoint, anchor grappling to higher land, and an awesome variety of mechs with cool weapons you can also tear off and use on foot (and re-attach as well). As the game is in 3rd person view, you develop less of a feeling for the power your weapons are putting out compared to Call of Duty and seeing the gritty details up close and feeling the force feedback, but the movement in Lost Planet makes up for this. After you move forward a bit, you're introduced to the lovely giant salamander.
I've only played with A.I. bots so far since the online pool of players for this demo is somewhat unreliable, but you still get a sense for the intensity you're in for by yourself. Monster design from the original is still present, so glowing spots are pretty much the "shoot here" signal, but by yourself, your small arms probably aren't gonna put much of a dent in the monster (it should be different if you work together with someone).
How you combat the monster gets pretty interesting. When you daze it after a inflicting enough damage, you can grapple onto its back and unload on the glowing spot on its back. You can also crawl into its agape mouth and go to town on its internal organs (though you get the same chance if you get swallowed against your will, which will hurt more).
As I haven't played online, I haven't been able to fully explore a lot of the things that are going to set this apart from the first. Riding shotgun on a friend's mech, using the injection gun to buff team mates, and overall team work to split up targets on huge enemy Akrid monsters. But if you download this game (currently only for gold members) I'm sure it'll at least provide a passing interest on Lost Planet 2.
Lost Planet 2 is takes place years after the first. The icy, frigid climate of E.D.N. III has thawed thanks to the hero of the first game and more suitable, temperate lands begin to appear. You play as a soldier in the NEVEC corporation who's still waging a war against the native insectoid monsters. Full details are sparse now, but the demo gives me this one basic feeling: Keep the combat of the first Lost Planet, add four player co-op and throw in big boss battles. As this is Capcom, I could only think of one thing while I was firing heavy ordinance at the giant salamander in the demo: Monster Hunter. The salamander has even been touted as a monster who isn't even the biggest in the game, and this one can still swallow you up and let you start shooting its guts.
The controls are still familiar from the first game. Third-person viewpoint, anchor grappling to higher land, and an awesome variety of mechs with cool weapons you can also tear off and use on foot (and re-attach as well). As the game is in 3rd person view, you develop less of a feeling for the power your weapons are putting out compared to Call of Duty and seeing the gritty details up close and feeling the force feedback, but the movement in Lost Planet makes up for this. After you move forward a bit, you're introduced to the lovely giant salamander.
I've only played with A.I. bots so far since the online pool of players for this demo is somewhat unreliable, but you still get a sense for the intensity you're in for by yourself. Monster design from the original is still present, so glowing spots are pretty much the "shoot here" signal, but by yourself, your small arms probably aren't gonna put much of a dent in the monster (it should be different if you work together with someone).
How you combat the monster gets pretty interesting. When you daze it after a inflicting enough damage, you can grapple onto its back and unload on the glowing spot on its back. You can also crawl into its agape mouth and go to town on its internal organs (though you get the same chance if you get swallowed against your will, which will hurt more).
As I haven't played online, I haven't been able to fully explore a lot of the things that are going to set this apart from the first. Riding shotgun on a friend's mech, using the injection gun to buff team mates, and overall team work to split up targets on huge enemy Akrid monsters. But if you download this game (currently only for gold members) I'm sure it'll at least provide a passing interest on Lost Planet 2.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Batman's got it good in Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum is destined to be Batman's best game ever (though it doesn't have competition). As many have already brought up, Arkham Asylum isn't tied down by any movie tie in deals, the this one's freed up to explore much more interesting territory, and boy is it interesting.
In all the years I've seen Batman, Arkham has always been a mysterious area to me. Bad guys go there, do hard time, and eventually escape so Bats can throw'em back in. This time around, you, as Batman, will be spending a lot of quality time in Arkham Asylum with it's psychopathic inmates running around as they like.
The demo took me through three elements that Arkham Asylum is going to blend into gameplay. Combat, puzzle work, and stealth. Combat-wise, Batman borrows liberally from the mechanics at work in Prince of Persia (Sands of Time anyways). You have a basic attack button, counters, and a cape stun along with a dodging. When surrounded (and you will be surrounded) you simply push in the direction you want to go while attacking and Batman will fluidly sock the enemy in that direction. You can easily build up impressive looking combos beating down one thug then suddenly sending a flying dropkick to the dude behind you. You'll usually find yourself in combat like this one Batman is forced to walk into an area with thugs already out and about.
The puzzle as I called it, is more of a problem solving situation. A security guard is being held hostage by a psychopath and it's my job to take him down in one swift move without being noticed. With detective vision, built into Batman's cowl, all of Batman's detective work is boiled down to a special x-ray vision that gives you all the info you need. With it, I was able to spot the gargoyles near the ceiling and grapple from one to the other until I was in a prime position to drop on the would-be killers head. Detective vision looks like it'll be awesome to play with on, if the next scenario is anything to see.
The stealth element is presented as a group of enemies on patrol armed with assault rifles which will cut through Batman pretty easily. With detective vision and some (thankfully) quick crouch walking, I was able to silently takedown two enemies with no trouble. Next, I grappled to a gargoyle and hang down to sleeper hold an enemy walking by. He doesn't go quietly, but it works to my advantage. The last two enemies see his body dangling from my cable and detective vision lets me see their heart rate and how they're obviously nervous. From the shadows, I could hear them panic and throw around questions like what they should do (I threw a batarang to cut the cable suspending the body, just to freak them out more).
This stealth gameplay will by far be the one to yield the most interesting gameplay. This predator stalking his prey mindset really lets you feel like Batman picking off the henchman in the classic 90s cartoon. I even found myself swooping down right in front of the last bad guy going, "Boo!" shortly before knocking him out with a 3 hit combo.
The demo ends there, leaving you with the prospect of a boss fight with some sort of mutated inmate the Joker personally sicks on you, but the demo pretty much got me interested in having a longer at the retail version.
In all the years I've seen Batman, Arkham has always been a mysterious area to me. Bad guys go there, do hard time, and eventually escape so Bats can throw'em back in. This time around, you, as Batman, will be spending a lot of quality time in Arkham Asylum with it's psychopathic inmates running around as they like.
The demo took me through three elements that Arkham Asylum is going to blend into gameplay. Combat, puzzle work, and stealth. Combat-wise, Batman borrows liberally from the mechanics at work in Prince of Persia (Sands of Time anyways). You have a basic attack button, counters, and a cape stun along with a dodging. When surrounded (and you will be surrounded) you simply push in the direction you want to go while attacking and Batman will fluidly sock the enemy in that direction. You can easily build up impressive looking combos beating down one thug then suddenly sending a flying dropkick to the dude behind you. You'll usually find yourself in combat like this one Batman is forced to walk into an area with thugs already out and about.
The puzzle as I called it, is more of a problem solving situation. A security guard is being held hostage by a psychopath and it's my job to take him down in one swift move without being noticed. With detective vision, built into Batman's cowl, all of Batman's detective work is boiled down to a special x-ray vision that gives you all the info you need. With it, I was able to spot the gargoyles near the ceiling and grapple from one to the other until I was in a prime position to drop on the would-be killers head. Detective vision looks like it'll be awesome to play with on, if the next scenario is anything to see.
The stealth element is presented as a group of enemies on patrol armed with assault rifles which will cut through Batman pretty easily. With detective vision and some (thankfully) quick crouch walking, I was able to silently takedown two enemies with no trouble. Next, I grappled to a gargoyle and hang down to sleeper hold an enemy walking by. He doesn't go quietly, but it works to my advantage. The last two enemies see his body dangling from my cable and detective vision lets me see their heart rate and how they're obviously nervous. From the shadows, I could hear them panic and throw around questions like what they should do (I threw a batarang to cut the cable suspending the body, just to freak them out more).
This stealth gameplay will by far be the one to yield the most interesting gameplay. This predator stalking his prey mindset really lets you feel like Batman picking off the henchman in the classic 90s cartoon. I even found myself swooping down right in front of the last bad guy going, "Boo!" shortly before knocking him out with a 3 hit combo.
The demo ends there, leaving you with the prospect of a boss fight with some sort of mutated inmate the Joker personally sicks on you, but the demo pretty much got me interested in having a longer at the retail version.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Wheelman Demo Wheels It's Way Into My Heart
At the same time as I download the new Burnout Toy Cars pack, I noticed the Wheelman demo was released and decided to giive it a spin. Vin Diesel can apparently make good games (google: Escape from Butcher Bay) so does he do it again?
In Wheelman, you play as Vinny himself (or the character he plays anyways) who is a driver for hire apparently in high risk crime and stunts. The game starts right off with you female client coming out of a building with alarms ringing, where you then pick her up and a chase ensues.
"My name is Riddick... I mean Vin"
The physics are fairly arcade like. Drifting by carefully braking during turns feel floaty and easy to manage. It's pretty hard to over or understeer, so the margin of error is forgiving. The police are right on you, and later in the demo, you learn to pull out your gun, but this is where Wheelman becomes something absurdly awesome.
Instead of actually steering your car to side swipe other cars, pushing the right stick actually sends your car sideways into your would-be chasers. As the game puts it, "your car is your weapon."
Your car is your weapon. Just remember you're in your weapon.
As you wreck them, the camera changes dramatically to display their heaping wreakage just like Burnout. It's pretty cheesy though, as the cars literally fly through the air like the Hot Wheels from our old days. At least in Burnout the cars will flip and wreck with a little more weight and realism.
You also get a bar for focus moves that fills after drifts and stunts. The bar is used for your traditional boost but also crazy moves like bullet time shooting (slowing down to time to shoot a timely target) and the cyclone move (just like bullet time but you automatically spin backwards to shoot targets behind you).
The last thing I did was a side mission introduced after escaping the cops and another gang. The wild thing they introduce is the crazy car to car jump and steal. The goal was to steal a car and bring it back to the appointed location for money. Unlike GTA though, these cars seem to always outpace you. So what's a wheelman to do? Well, why not jump out of your freak'in car, land on theirs, and kick the driver out. Holy hell, this takes the middleman out of the old GTA completely!
pictures coutesy of IGN.com and MTBS
In Wheelman, you play as Vinny himself (or the character he plays anyways) who is a driver for hire apparently in high risk crime and stunts. The game starts right off with you female client coming out of a building with alarms ringing, where you then pick her up and a chase ensues.
"My name is Riddick... I mean Vin"The physics are fairly arcade like. Drifting by carefully braking during turns feel floaty and easy to manage. It's pretty hard to over or understeer, so the margin of error is forgiving. The police are right on you, and later in the demo, you learn to pull out your gun, but this is where Wheelman becomes something absurdly awesome.
Instead of actually steering your car to side swipe other cars, pushing the right stick actually sends your car sideways into your would-be chasers. As the game puts it, "your car is your weapon."
Your car is your weapon. Just remember you're in your weapon.As you wreck them, the camera changes dramatically to display their heaping wreakage just like Burnout. It's pretty cheesy though, as the cars literally fly through the air like the Hot Wheels from our old days. At least in Burnout the cars will flip and wreck with a little more weight and realism.
You also get a bar for focus moves that fills after drifts and stunts. The bar is used for your traditional boost but also crazy moves like bullet time shooting (slowing down to time to shoot a timely target) and the cyclone move (just like bullet time but you automatically spin backwards to shoot targets behind you).
The last thing I did was a side mission introduced after escaping the cops and another gang. The wild thing they introduce is the crazy car to car jump and steal. The goal was to steal a car and bring it back to the appointed location for money. Unlike GTA though, these cars seem to always outpace you. So what's a wheelman to do? Well, why not jump out of your freak'in car, land on theirs, and kick the driver out. Holy hell, this takes the middleman out of the old GTA completely!
pictures coutesy of IGN.com and MTBS
Monday, February 16, 2009
Flying High in the H.A.W.X. demo
Tom Clancy games have had a history of high difficulty curves. I draw this experience from the Splinter Cell games. And now Ubisoft's newest Tom Clancy game has hit Xbox Live as a demo, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X..
You play as U.S. Air Force pilot David Crenshaw. The game takes an interesting split between simulator-like fighter game play to high flying arcade dog fights. The feature responsible for this is the ERS (enhance reality system). In game, it's explained as a computer system that keeps the pilot safe by correcting common human error and making flight adjustments. In actual game play, this lets you turn on ERS for a steady behind view (whether 3rd person behind the craft or 1st person in the cockpit) or turn it off for a freed up view as if from another aircraft. The mechanic is that with ERS on, you'll have a steady flying experience. With ERS off, you're free to pull off fantastic aerial stunts in order to better your opponents, with the risk of problems such as stalling and loss of control.
For a Tom Clancy game though, it's much easier then I thought, at least with it's selectable difficulty. On normal, you'll take a fair share of hits before being blown out of the sky. The rest is just keeping your reticule on your target for a lock-on and letting your missiles fly.
The interesting thing is the RPG-esque level up system. As you rank up from completed missions, you unlock new aircraft with different weapon load outs and stats from armor to speed and handling. There were three to unlock on the demo; the standard versatile fighter, a ground bombing specialist (resembling a Harrier), and the anti-air fighter (with a resemblance to the Tomcat).
The missions presented was the standard training mission getting you familiarized with the controls, and a mission giving you a sudden coup d'etat in Rio De Janiro. The action is pretty intense, especially with the ERS off, letting you pull off awesome brake turns (reducing speed dangerously to stall, turning, then throttling up), loops, and the sonic booms that come with all that boosting in speed.
Multiplayer was available in forms of head to head and co-op, but I didn't get the chance to try them.
All in all, H.A.W.X. was a surprise. It got me interested in what the final game will look like, but if it's like the demo, it should be an awesome ride in the sky.
You play as U.S. Air Force pilot David Crenshaw. The game takes an interesting split between simulator-like fighter game play to high flying arcade dog fights. The feature responsible for this is the ERS (enhance reality system). In game, it's explained as a computer system that keeps the pilot safe by correcting common human error and making flight adjustments. In actual game play, this lets you turn on ERS for a steady behind view (whether 3rd person behind the craft or 1st person in the cockpit) or turn it off for a freed up view as if from another aircraft. The mechanic is that with ERS on, you'll have a steady flying experience. With ERS off, you're free to pull off fantastic aerial stunts in order to better your opponents, with the risk of problems such as stalling and loss of control.
For a Tom Clancy game though, it's much easier then I thought, at least with it's selectable difficulty. On normal, you'll take a fair share of hits before being blown out of the sky. The rest is just keeping your reticule on your target for a lock-on and letting your missiles fly.
The interesting thing is the RPG-esque level up system. As you rank up from completed missions, you unlock new aircraft with different weapon load outs and stats from armor to speed and handling. There were three to unlock on the demo; the standard versatile fighter, a ground bombing specialist (resembling a Harrier), and the anti-air fighter (with a resemblance to the Tomcat).
The missions presented was the standard training mission getting you familiarized with the controls, and a mission giving you a sudden coup d'etat in Rio De Janiro. The action is pretty intense, especially with the ERS off, letting you pull off awesome brake turns (reducing speed dangerously to stall, turning, then throttling up), loops, and the sonic booms that come with all that boosting in speed.
Multiplayer was available in forms of head to head and co-op, but I didn't get the chance to try them.
All in all, H.A.W.X. was a surprise. It got me interested in what the final game will look like, but if it's like the demo, it should be an awesome ride in the sky.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Quality Time with the Halo Wars demo
Ensemble Studios is releasing Halo Wars, an RTS (real-time strategy) game take on Bungie's ever prominent Halo franchise. In all three games of the Halo game trilogy, the player takes the helm of super soldier "Spartan" Master Chief, the last of the Spartans from Earth's super soldier program.
Players are used to playing the seemingly invincible Master Chief from a 1st person perspective. Halo Wars however, pans the camera out for you to control either Earth's UNSC army or the Convenant forces in massive battles with you calling the shots over a large area.
The transition for me however, was easy. And by that, I mean the transition from shooter to RTS using the ripe Halo backstory and franchise was great. All the great units I've fought against and alongside with from the shooter are a blast to see in action en masse in an RTS. From the cannon fodder Space Marines to the few but strong Spartans who can be upgraded to wield the deadly Spartan Laser and the Convenant Hunters and Elites; everything that was memorable from the shooter is jusst as iconic and memorable in a large scale RTS.
Just imagine having three Spartans, all wiping out the front lines with this baby.The only caveat is the question of whether classic Halo fans will bite. Certainly the curious ones will, but what of the hardcore shooters? I'm not even a big fan of RTS, and even I know that RTS games belong on a pc. Picking apart specific units to send into strategic positionsisn't exactly easy when I'm using a control pad instead of a mouse.
However, the one stand out thing to set Halo Wars apart from other RTS are the units' special abilities. You see, sicking a unit on an enemy with the X button may yield predictable results, but using the Y button for it's special ability can be far my interesting and fun. For example, Warthog vehicles will ram, Space Marines lob grenades, The Prophet of Regret calls down a daming space beam.
Yes, that last one was a leader unit. Leader units are above all the best units you'll have, leading the fray with useful skills like the Cleansing Beam, Repair and Regeneration, or a good old fashion murderous frenzy.
Halo Wars is shaping up to be a fun romp if not at least for long time Halo fans. It might not be the easiest RTS to control due to the console's natural limitations on precision, but it'll be one hell of a ride at least.
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