Rant - Wet Demo

So the first game on my holiday wish list is released today and I’m considering actually buying it later on in an incidental trip to the city. The demo was tossed to us silver-membership peasants a few weeks ago and I have to admit I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face from start to finish. Wet is shameless, whizz-bang shooty fun, beautifully stylised and appeals to my belief that realism is boring and best enjoyed by boring people. I will say it has probably shown off all the tricks in its hat, which is only a worry because the demo's maybe ten to fifteen minutes long.

Aforementioned shooty fun is intensely satisfying and intuitively controlled. Seems every third person game nowadays needs a slow-motion mechanic but Wet handles it quite well. There’s no limit and it turns off when not used. Remember games like Max Payne or Enter the Matrix when you’d find yourself starting a dramatic slow-mo dive before figuring out that was probably a bit of overkill, but you’d still have to watch yourself complete the motion all the while your focus or whatever metre is running dry? Wet doesn’t have that problem, if you’re not shooting things it returns to normal speed to wonder why you aren’t shooting things.

I have a strong suspicion (now confirmed by reading reviews) that the full version is going to include an upgrade system. Doesn’t really make sense to me, I mean are we playing a hardcore gun-fighter who knows all the tricks or some rookie who’s figuring it out as she goes along? Oh well, I suppose that makes the combo system relevant beyond ego satisfaction.

The camera is a bit too busy giving you a grind house filter to actually be useful, but smart enough to give the player control via the right analogue stick. It’ll still freak out when you try to backtrack quickly, which can make the acrobatic sections frustrating.

The game play mixes up here and there. There's vehicle section which makes Newton’s laws of motion cry. It’s also loaded with quick-time events although it makes them a core part of game-play so it’s hard to complain. They’re relative to the action that’s actually on screens, so if you think Rubi aught to jump chances are you press the jump button unless she thinks her sword is a better idea. Incidentally there’s a mash the button to open locked doors element, but nobody complained when Arkham Asylum did this. Other sections like the arena battle seem like the game’s staying “No. This isn’t realistic. You’re playing a game, remember?” but the absolute standout section is the Bloodlust/Berzerk/Rage (yeah I’m not sure what it’s called) section in which everything turns stock black, white and red. Your pistols magically transform into uzis but what the fuck right? It looks and feels so cool that my brain shuts down and becomes incapable of enough intelligent thought to criticise it.

All complaints registered, I guess I’m just one of those wanky gamers who can enjoy a clearly flawed game entirely for its art direction (see also the most recent Prince of Persia and Fable 2). I’ve been looking for a good no brainer, cathartic violence game for a while now, pretty much since God of War got a tad old and retailers are still asking to much for Devil May Cry. So until Shoot Em’ Up is adapted for button mashing, this’ll do. This’ll do nicely.

October Cometh

So Far Cry 2 failed its gauntlet run. No biggie. In the meantime we're now entering the season of gamers losing their tans and lightening their wallets. Last year my 360 game collection almost tripled between October and December. This year's not looking as impressive, though just as full of sequels, but less that I might be interested in. Here's the wish list thus far.

Wet

I love over the top Tarentino and Rodriguez style movies. This looks like playing an over the top Tarentino/Rodriguez style movie. Any questions?

Modern Warfare 2

I’m one of those gamers who only played CoD4 and left the rest of the franchise alone. I was happy enough with this game, it was cream of the FPS crop. The rest of the WWII era games of the franchise (I know they're not all WWII) tend make me a little uneasy on account of having a Grandfather I never met who fought. Now I’m not getting sentimental and thinking it’s disrespectful to his memory. He made it back. With medals. So when I play these games I feel a spectral backhand come across my noggin every time I die followed by the raspy whisper “that ain't how I did it!”

Dragon Age: Origins

This game looks awful. None of the trailers have sold me and the gameplay looks fucking boring. But if I had to pick a favourite game, it would be Mass Effect. When Bioware dropped the Star Wars universe for (a very similar) one of their own making they really created something special. I’m willing to invest enough nieve hope that the lightning can strike twice as they drop the D&D universe. Even if it is unplayable garbage it isn't like there aren’t any other new games I can trade it towards.

Assassins Creed II

Yeah ok, Assassin's Creed was enjoyable enough for me to give it a second look. Although this does look like they're pulling the Halo gambit on us by not developing much more than letting you duel wield the flagship weapon to play to the whole "2" thing. I can probably live with that.

Left 4 Dead 2

I'm usually not one for multiplayer. It tends to feel like you're sacrificing story line and game play for the sake of playing it with other people, most of whom are jerks. Which feels to me like breaking up with your girlfriend so you can reserve more time for getting kicked in the grill. But L4D was awesome fun to play local multiplayer and gave an interesting insight into my friends' gritty subconscious. I'd look up the sequel.

Bioshock 2 and Mass Effect 2 are listed as 2010 in Australia so I guess they don't count. Bioshock doesn't really feel like it needs a sequel and it certainly doesn't need multiplayer but I'll think on that closer to the date. Mass Effect 2 might be one I pick up first thing on release day.

Far Cry 2 on the chopping block

OK Far Cry 2, you can't say you haven't been given a fair run. But it's now crunch time. If you don't convince me you're worth keeping by Friday you're getting traded in to help fun Arkham Asylum. Christ help you if I get stuck at the same fucking place again waiting for the fucking weapons dealer to show up because apparently the game has more important things to do than let people play it.

The Matrix 10 Year Anniversary

It's been accused of plagiarism all over the shop, imitated at least as thoroughly, and apparently wasn't the first movie to use bullet time. But I don't think it's ever left my top ten movies. 

Green on Games

As a hippy who's also a gamer, this metre hits a very particular niche with me. I used to keep the two lives separate, my gamer friends didn't know I was a hippy and my hippy friends didn't know I was a gamer. Then one of the hippies bought a PS3 and I guess the gamers finally noticed the dreadlocks. 

Of this list I own and regularly use a Microsoft product (Xbox 360), an Apple laptop, and Nokia mobile phone. My television's brand didn't make the list (Celestial). So I have one in the red, another in the yellow, and one in the green. After this add from Apple I did expect to find them further up the list, but I can still be happy enough with my own laptop, maybe iPods are made from baby seals or something. Microsoft wasn't such a surprise. The Xbox, when on, sounds like it's connected directly to the Bill Gate's Doom Fortress where it's powered by the souls of the living. It's good to see Nokia leading the charge too. Cell phones and their batteries that end up in landfills are still a considerable problem.

I couldn't say how widespread the concern is amongst gamers about the environmental impact of their dream machines. Gaming is, after all, a form of escapism. Personally though, I would not buy a Wii or any further DS games based on this information.

Greenpeace's full report here.

Peace.

First of the Fourth

I may have fallen for an April Fools joke within 5 minutes of being out of bed, but this smelt like bullshit as soon as I read the title.

Grand Theft Auto: Harbour City Leaked

Last year IGN put together a trailer for a Legend of Zelda movie, complete with making of videos. Even some interviews where an actor claimed that "I will not refer to my character as 'Ganondorf', I will only refer to him as 'Ganon.'" I thought that the devil was in the details there, but how convincing it was is hard to tell in hindsight. At any rate it seems that a lot more effort went into last years.

Do You Like Robots?

Just having a second go of Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Last time I borrowed it from somewhere that required money per night. This time a friend has leant it to me. 

So far I've had the random thought that this game needs Mechwarriors. It's not like it'd trim down the all important subtly. Just feels like it's been too long since I've played a giant robot smashing up a cityscape. Do they even still make those sort of games? It could well be one of those things that died in the nineties.

Sequels A'hoy

Seems the best we can hope for in the year of video games are sequels. Max Payne 3, Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2 are all in the making, and will almost definitely be picked up by me. 

I'm kind of missing getting stuck into a new series though, I remember when I first bought my xbox Mass Effect and Bioshock were shiny new things I had no idea what to expect from. However, their respective sequels look as though they're still maintaining a degree of innovation, not just churning out the same game with a new face and minus a few bugs. Bioshock 2 has us playing as a Big Daddy, and the Mass Effect 2 trailer *spoilers* suggested that our beloved Commander hasn't survived the sequel gap. My piece of wild speculation is that you're now playing as Shepard's kid. That'd further contextualize the sex scene if nothing else.

The (Geekier) Odd Couple - the Gamer and the Mac

So my old PC was one of the many casualties of The week my everything broke, and in the name of more artistic endeavors, I bought a MacBook. 

I guess this makes me an exclusively console gamer, which I’m Ok with. I’ve nearly replaced my entire PC game collection with console versions. I even found a PS2 version of Deus Ex. Now I’m just missing Bioshock and Unreal Tournament III, the latter of which I didn’t play much anyway but it could be fun once I get more into Xbox LIVE. I did notice that Oblivion took a massive graphical downgrade from PC to 360, but that’s probably not a fair criticism considering my old graphics card weighed more than my new laptop.

The only upcoming non-console title that I could be convinced to give a shit about is Diablo III, and Blizzard have a long history of catering to a turtle-necked mac crowd who game when nobody’s watching.

I’m not sure if I’ve lost or gained artistic cred, as there was something gritty and underground about editing comics on a desktop PC with pirated software.

Short Rant - Halo Wars

So I just picked up my new Xbox 360 and everything works the way it should (touches wood). It was $11 cheaper to buy it with Halo Wars, which trades in for about $85 if I bring it back before Wednesday. I haven’t been into Real Time Strategy games since Warcraft III and I'm not a fan of Halo, but I was intrigued enough by an RTS designed specifically for console controls to not trade it in straight away.

After trying out the first few levels last night, I plan to trade Halo Wars in today. It has the same main problem that I've had with most RTSs in that I spent most of the game just watching numbers get bigger. The action system isn't worth much, most battles can be won just by selecting all your troops and clicking on the opposite side of the map. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered, but a little perplexing in that they mostly involve watching ground level gunfights. Basically serving to show the player what they'd probably rather be doing.

The building system is inventive enough and disproved my theory that RTS games haven't changed at all since their conception. Resources are handled automatically by structures, so you don't have peons or SCVs or Tiberium Harvesters to shake your impatient power of god fist at but it's still fucking boring.

I suppose if you're into RTSs this is an imaginative take on the genre and not just copy pasted from a much more functional PC version. Me, I'm going to see if any of the city EB stores have Left 4 Dead.

Zombies Ahead

The Story.

That's a point for the nerds.

Rant - Resident Evil 5 Demo

I'd like to start this entry by shedding a tear for my fallen Xbox 360. It was only a matter of time and overheating I suppose, but it served me better than most electrical equipment unfortunate enough to be owned by me. It now faces an uncertain future that I'm somehow tempted to blame on the Resident Evil 5 demo I downloaded last week.

For starters this isn't a survival horror game, it's just a shooter in which you run out of bullets more often and your enemies rarely shoot back yet they're still carrying bullets for whatever reason. That's fine. What drew me into this series has always been the puzzles. The horror was capable and the storyline was woeful.

If I judge this as a shooter there are a few kinks in the controls I'd like to see ironed out before the game goes gold. In terms of gun play you can’t move while reloading, aiming, shooting, healing, looking at your inventory or basically while doing anything. Apparently Chris is really bad at multitasking. This would all be fine if I could fire from the hip (shooting without holding the aim button; less accurate but quicker). In the more claustrophobic moments I got a brief glimpse of the horror game this was trying to be. Being able to fire from the hip or move while aiming could vastly improve these areas without giving the player too much tension breaking power. As these moments stand, they're simply frustrating. Aside from that, the controls aren't exactly intuitive but effective once I got used to them and the aiming was impressively smooth.

The new zombie virus thing is a horrifying parasite that, upon the death of the host, melts their entire body into just the bullets they were carrying. Hitler couldn't come up with that shit. It's hard to be afraid of these guys though, because you're far from vulnerable. Within the first few minutes of play I'd taken giant axe in the face no less than six times without healing myself at all. My teammate just patted me on the back and I was right as rain. The only sense of the survival element is aforementioned rapid bullet depletion cracking action. But even then, the knife actually kicks arse against your garden variety zombies.

As far as story goes my best guess is that the bad guys are trying to enslave an impoverished African nation while the good guys are performing incidental genocide on it. Which is pretty much as ambivalent as it gets.

All bugs and glitches aside though, I think I will buy the full version of this game. Basically I really liked Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero on the Gamecube. And this game basically looks like it is to RE4 what RE was to RE0. The same basic formula applied to two characters with different strengths and weaknesses, and playing co-op this time around is actually a lot of fun. It's no giant leap, but it's a small step in the right direction.