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September 26, 2008
'Fracture' arrives in the mail
While others are ensnared in the beta for LBP, I'm getting an ahead look on Fracture, another game from LucasArts. I'm actually a little timid about LucasArts these days, given the life-shortening experience that was "The Force Unleashed."
While embargo rules prevent me from formally reviewing Fracture until early October, I can at least take solace in the fact that the game works. Instant plus. No random freezing, glitches or anything else that would make the think the game wasn't finished. The terraforming mechanics take some getting used to, and I get the feeling that playing with dirt is going to get old, no matter how cool the weapons are. We'll see when I plunge further into the game. One thing that's making an impact are the physics. I like seeing how stuff falls here.
I still owe you guys some stuff about Resistance 2. I'll get that up when I carve out a little more time over the weekend. I'm also waiting on approval to check out E for All.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 8:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2008
Review: Star Wars - The Force Unleashed
Some people want to fly like Superman. Others want to climb walls like Spidey.
But me? I wanted the Force.
You can move stuff with your mind, shoot lightning from your fingers and carry a light saber. What's not to love?
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was supposed to represent the apex of that fantasy, and for chunks of the journey, it did. But a funny thing happened while I was living this dream -- this game made me want to punch holes in the wall.
While the Force is strong in this piece of work from LucasArts, so is its penchant for frustration. Whatever greatness it has is neutered by glitches and other problems that would require a Jedi-like mindset to even tolerate, much less ignore.
It's a shame, because some of the game's elements hold a lot of value, such as the story, which is an attempt to bridge the gap between Episodes III and IV.
You play as Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice and the man charged with helping Vader and the Emperor destroy the Jedi. The story has a few twists and turns, and I actually found the characters and plot more interesting than the last few movies combined.
What makes Starkiller special is his extreme aptitude with the Force. He has the ability to grab things and move them (Force Grip), zap foes with Force Lightning, and knock enemies back with Force Push. Starkiller is amazingly powerful for his age, able to blast through doors and snatch Tie Fighters out of the sky.
There's even a point in the game where he can use the Force to send a massive Star Destroyer crashing into the ground. But more on that later.
In terms of other positives, the game looks outstanding. Starkiller's adventure takes him everywhere from the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk to the inside of the unfinished Death Star (like you didn't know that was going to happen). They are all vast, detailed worlds that do a good job of visually pulling in the player.
But sadly, it's not enough to cover some of the game's maddening issues.
At the forefront is the pall of bugginess cast over the entire experience. It's as if it wakes up sometimes and decides not to work.
Whether it's a game freezing, the inabilty to replay certain missions and bouts of lag, some game sessions for me could be classified as an absolute mess.
One vintage, head-exploding, expletive-worthy sequence is the Star Destroyer mission. You have to Force Grip the ship, follow the directions of the thumbstick icons that pop up, move the Star Destroyer into prime crashing position, and then Force it down.
When the ship is in the right position, a hazy red blotch under the thumbstick icons turns green. Did I mention that you have to fight off a wave of Tie Fighters every time you get it into crash-readiness?
When I managed to work the Star Destroyer down to the point where it was practically kissing the ground, the little red blotch decides it wants to stay red -- despite the fact that the stick icons even tell me to stop moving.
I wasted about 45 minutes re-positioning the ship, breaking off Force Grip to fight the Tie Fighters, re-gripping the ship and waiting for the "go" signal to crash it. It never came.
The whole experience was like trying to hang a picture frame while being directed by someone with untreated OCD. Go right. No, left. Down. Up. No, down again. It's still not right. I ended up just turning the game off and trying the next day (it worked).
In addition to those precious moments, baby-sitting the spastic camera is no fun during battle, or even in general. The jumping mechanics are atrocius, leading to more than the occasional missed ledge or stupid death. And if you can help it, try not to get knocked off your feet. It takes forever to get back up, and you can't defend yourself, so you're a free target for the multitude of enemies who drill you with lasers. That's always fun.
And by action game standards, the game is still relatively short considering the pain it puts you through -- my unofficial count is about seven hours.
You don't need to be Luke Skywalker to see some of the good in this game, but I'd recommended it to only truly devout fans of Star Wars who aren't satisfied enough with "Knights of the Old Republic" or even the old "Jedi Knight" games.
As for myself, I can only say ... disappointed I am.
Score: 5.5/10
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2008
Checking out 'Resistance 2' this week, too
I'm going to get some hands-on time with Sony and Resistance 2 in Los Angeles later this week, which is good considering I spent much of my E3 visit staring at Killzone 2 and LBP. I'll be sure to take pics, share thoughts, etc. when I get back. You'll see it Thursday night or Friday morning.
EDIT: Because I can't read, I didn't notice the embargo note at the bottom of the invite I got. So, I really can't talk about Resistance 2 until next week. My apologies.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
'The Force Unleashed' coming at midnight
You've probably seen some of the commercials already, but yes, there will be a midnight release of "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" tonight. It's been called a mix of Psi-Ops and God of War. For those of you who have pre-ordered, good job.
I managed to get a copy a few days early. Expect to see a review here later this week. I'm going through it twice.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 5:17 PM | Comments (0)
September 4, 2008
Review: Mercenaries 2 - World in Flames
You could compare the "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames" playing experience to eating barbecue -- very enjoyable for a short time, but really, really sloppy.
In some ways, I wish more games were like it -- simple, unpretentious and with lots of stuff blowing up.
In a gaming world where designers are hellbent on getting players emotionally involved, the most emoting you might do when playing this piece from Pandemic Studios is the rush you get when you call in your first artillery strike. What holds it back is a litany of glitchy behavior that sometimes kills the gameplay.
Anyone who's played the first title shouldn't be shocked that destruction is the game's calling card.
As a trio of money-hungry mercenaries working a series of jobs for factions in North Korea, players used a variety of vehicles, weapons and manpower to essentially level everything in front of them.
This time, the three mercs find themselves in Venezuela, caught in the middle of a conflict involving corrupt generals, Venezuelan billionaires and guerrillas.
The game's maps are massive, and the missions have players doing everything from shattering historic castles to wiping out oil rigs.
Making things go boom is the single most satisfying part of the game. If you're annoyed at some sniper perched in a tower, stick some C4 at the base, click the detonator and watch it fall.
If you really want to get creative, you could grab a chopper, snatch up a truck with your winch, lift it on over to a group of bad guys and drop it like a bomb. The game pushes for destructive creativity, doing a good job of letting you explore all of your havoc-wreaking options, which you can buy when you make more money.
I also enjoyed how the game applies the sandbox concept to the world of mercenaries, which works on a much larger scale than the gangster-centric open-world games of the past. When you bounce from dealing with Chinese gunrunners one time to Jamaican pirates the next, it prevents the game from getting too linear.
Then there's co-op online play, which sometimes makes some of the tedious missions a lot more fun. But sadly, online play is also a gateway into the game's issues.
Aside from some really strange physics, I've also seen choppers stuck in midair after being shot down, along with other things that stay suspended, like weapons.
The worst part is the artificial intelligence of practically everyone in Venezuela. The innocent people there have a hard time staying out of the way of my vehicles, and the troops have a hard time staying out of my line of fire or deciding if I'm an ally or not. It's like everyone there wants to die.
Every time I call in my chopper to pick up a fuel tank, I don't know if he's going to pick it up or hover for two minutes and leave. I was also irritated at the fact that bullets and Jeeps don't do anything against a tank I'm driving, yet bumping into small metal barriers does real damage.
There's also tons of repetitive audio -- I don't like hearing every 5 to 10 minutes that I can come back to base if I'm lost, or that Fiona (the intel girl) is checking out the news sites.
And while I sometimes appreciate the fact that blowing up the vehicle I'm driving doesn't lead to my death, watching my character fly into the air and flop around like a broken puppet doesn't do much for me either.
If you can get past these frustrations, "Mercenaries 2" is still worth at least a chunk of your time, especially if you want to watch things get annihilated without that bothersome fear of caring. Destruction's always good for a little entertainment.
Posted by Redmond Carolipio at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)