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Games I'm looking forward to the most this year...

Here it is, the most overused tool in the blogger's inventory, the list!
But whatever, It's a slow day at the GDC and I can't think of anything else to put.

Games I will most likely be getting this year are...

1. Alan Wake - Only recently made it onto my list, but the trailers look fantastic, coupled with the fact that this will be Microsoft's biggest exclusive for the most of this year, I can't see them letting it be a bad game.
2. Splinter Cell: Conviction - I've always been a big fan of this series, with Double Agent being one of my favourite games of all time. Conviction looks amazing and many of the previews I've seen are making it look as if this will be the best in the series.
3. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver - What can I say, Pokemon may be a childish thing to like, but I maintain that the games are some of the most hardcore turn based RPGs around. Gold and Silver are widely regarded as the best in the series, which isn't a shock as they truly are. Diamond, Pearl and platinum looked beautiful and I cannot wait to replay one of the best handheld RPGs and arguably best RPGs on any console out there with shiny new graphics.
4. Blur - Wow, never in my gaming life have I been more impressed by a demo/beta, especially when it's multi-player only and a racing game, but damn its good, check out my impressions here.
5. Halo Reach - I love Halo. I loved Halo way before the whole "it's cool to hate Halo" thing began. So of course I'm going to look forward to a game the developers are calling the "definitive Halo".
6. Blazblue: Calamity Trigger - I like fighters, I like lots of colours, I like not feeling quite in control of what's going on on-screen and I love craziness.
7. Split/Second - Burnout with more explosions...nuff said.
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Dare I hope that DIMPS wont fuck it up? I mean, Sonic Rush was good, but are they going to make this like that? I hope not, there's only so much trust I can give SEGA nowadays.
9. Xbox LIVE Game Room - This is more intrigue then excitement, loads of retro classics rolled into a single service, unchanged and cheaper then your average XBLA release. And by retro, we're talking Atari to Genesis, with some word going round that Dreamcast emulation is in the works!! Their aim is to amass over 1000 games into this service!
10. Metro 2033 (PC) - Although it looks as if this game wont be without its problems, it looks like something I will really enjoy. Post apocalyptic wastelands seem to be flavour of the month at the moment, and THQ's look bloody good!

So, there you have it, my top games to look out for this year. I'm probably going to update the list as the year progresses, and as Alan Wake and Splinter Cell get pushed back again (probably). Keep an eye out.

I imagine some of my fellow authors will do a list similar to this at some point so keep an eye out for those aswell.

BATTLEFIELD: Bad Company 2: a worthy contender?

After putting a decent amount of hours into Infinity Wards Modern Warfare 2 and putting many, many hours into Infinity Wards franchise of games, i felt it was time to move onto something new and fresh. That something was Bad Company 2, DICE's new FPS which has just been released, and i have to say... I'm impressed.

Whilst not being a big fan of the first Bad Company because of the general feel of the game, the story wasn't that great, and the maps created for the single-player just seemed far to big and spacious often giving you the feeling that allot of it was pointless and unnecessary for the majority, making it one of those bargain bin games very quickly.

But the Single-player in Bad Company 2, whilst not being anything special, it certainly is a vast improvement on it's predecessor with more linear levels and just a bigger sense of direction and story, which is definitely what the game needed from the off, and while it's not the main reason you should go out and buy the game straight away for, it's definitely something to consider.

Multi-player

Now it's time to get down to the main reason why this is being blogged

ladies and gentlemen.

The multi-player was the main feature i was certainly looking forward to in Bad Company 2 as from all the trailers and game play videos it just looked much more fun and a more polished game than the predecessor, and i have to say that after hours of game play, the experience and the overall package is far more enjoyable in more areas than MW2, making it a high contender to Infinity Wards shiny FPS throne.

The multi-player boils down to a series of modes, conquest, rush and just single squad based versions of these modes where you and a squad of buddies play-off against another squad, head to head, there is also an option for a "Hardcore" mode that a lot of players will appreciate for a more challenging multi-player experience.

The maps work extremely well and are spot on, in terms of layout and size, you nearly always feel like there is something going on, even if they could of extended the amount of players in a match to 32 quite easily, giving it that little bit of extra go.

Another thing that i felt was a big feature was the fact that the battlefield is constantly changing with buildings being demolished and people having to choose new cover locations constantly due to this, so it's very good for getting rid of the campers and just provides players with new decisions on which way they'll go when they next spawn in, as that building you might love diving into will most likely not be there next time around (Most of it anyway).

One thing i really want to point out is that DICE seemed to have realized that people disliked the health bars, and have replaced it with a screen redness meter alternative, with regenerative health, after not being shot for so long.

So all in all the package is pretty solid and provides a lot of entertainment and in my personal opinion a better deal than MW2 in some respects, one mainly because the game will drop in price to become affordable to more of the market, unlike Infinity Ward/Activision who most likely won't drop it till the next installment of the COD series is released. this game is truly a testament to the BATTLEFIELD series of games and should be awarded so, if you haven't picked this game up, i urge you to, as you won't regret it.

Blur multi-player beta impressions...

I'm going to be honest here, the first time I heard about this game was right before Bizarre Creations announced the beta.
Either I was living under a rock, playing too much Modern Warfare 2 or this game was just not big news. I'll let you guys decide.
But, once I read up on it I was intrigued, it actually sounded pretty good.
I signed up for the beta and on march 8th started playing and realised that the game is pretty easy to sum up..

This game is Geometry Wars, Burnout, Mario Kart and neon lights rolled up into one game.

Anyway, to my thoughts...

First off, I can be a little picky about power-up style racing games, they are fantastic and accessible when done right, but terrible and frustrating when not. So the first thing I really wanted to test out was the balance of the power-ups and found that, although they tend to favour a defensive play style if you're in the lead, they are reasonably balanced. It's also worth noting that there are no "Blue Shell" style power-ups.

One thing that has been included which i think all games should have is a ranking system, which allows you to unlock new "perks" (ill explain those next), new cars and new multi-player modes.

The "perks" consist of lots of different driving aids that allow you to play in whatever style you like to more effectively. You can equip three of these at once, one from each category. An example of how these help would be how I play. I'm good at this game, and tend to be out in front a fair bit, so most of the time I'm playing defensively. The "perks" I use let me start with a power-up so that i can get the lead as early as possible, heal me when an opponents power-up hits me whilst shielded and allows me to do more damage in a collision with another car so that when they try and barge past me, they don't.
That is just one use of them, there are a few other ways you can use them to your advantage and there will be many more once the game is released.

Something that tends to put me off these types of games is a "catch up" system. For some games it's needed, such as Mario Kart where driver skill isn't always going to win you a race. Thankfully, this game has taken a tip from Burnout and rather then include a catch up system and make the driving simple, they've focused more on a drift mechanic and basic racing lines. So to catch up to that bugger in first place who's constantly using the damn shield, you're going to have to drive your arse off.

Another thing I should point out is the use of licensed vehicles. This pretty much means that you shouldn't expect Burnout levels of damage to cars as the manufactures wont allow it, something to do with implying that the cars arn't safe or some stupid crap like that.

I did come across a few glitches whilst playing it. One such glitch will disconnect you from the rest of the players in your group and put you in a race by yourself, the race will start and instantly finish, declaring you the winner. This happens quite a lot and is a serious pain when you're on a good winning streak.
The other glitch is not so wide spread, but what it does is reset all your stats, ranks and unlocks. I imagine for players who like to get high up on the leaderboards this would be stupidly frustrating but it wasn't that much of an inconvenience for me as it only takes a few hours to reach the max rank available in the beta.
Also, i should highlight that if a player is lagging, his car will appear to the other players to be bouncing all over the place, which makes it very hard to hit with power-ups, I will admit that I've won a few races purely because I was lagging.

Overall I am very impressed with this beta, there are a few things that need to be sorted such as glitches and the minor balancing issues but then again, that's what a beta is for right? to find these types of problems and fix them. I'm very confident that it'll all be fixed, fine tuned and polished for its released on the 28th of May, and I'm looking forward to it.

Games like this.....

....'Samorost 2' bought from steam. Have awakened a love for puzzle games that i didnt know existed.

I have never really been a gamer who enjoys a lot of the puzzle genre but this game is easily the most entertaining one i have played. Its a point and click sort of thing with no real clues as to what your supposed to do apart from the odd jiggling bee or flickering light. I found this very interesting and it kept me wanting to play more and more.

It also got me thinking why dont i play more puzzle games? I don't think the genre gets enough credit, its all about the fps flavour of the month at the moment it would seem. This is getting tiring. At least playing the blur beta with Ryan shook things up a bit for me (its ace!!!).

I feel as though i have a whole mess of games out there to play and enjoy with my new found liking for this genre. All thanks to Samorost and the quest for his little lost dog in some surreal, crazy ass, pear loving world.

I remember playing with power...

I remember the first Gameboy! This little box of magic, little gold coins, swords, shields and magic mushrooms kept me sane throughout my childhood. (that and the regular beatings from my mother)

I remember playing links awakening for hours on end every night for about 2 years. This hand held system should be preserved and given every award for everything. (even those shitty grammies) Its just that good.

This is a short post just stating that the Gameboy should be thanked personally by me for keeping me sane.

Why people like this are ruining my life!

World of Warcraft. Need i say any more. Its a soul consuming mother of a game but damn i enjoy it! Now if im going to be spending pretty much the remainder of my days crafting some tasty war, i want to be able to actually play the game!

Il show you what i mean.

This player is looking for people to join his group to run a dungeon. BUT!! if you don't have the achievement for already completing the dungeon then you will be shunned.

This is really annoying for new players or players who have yet to run those dungeons and don't have the achievement. They will be constantly pushed aside and therefore never run the dungeon and never get the achievement so that they can get into groups that ask of you to have already got the achievement.

People like this need to be slapped around the face with my glove of sense and fair play. (and barbed wire...)

Gear score is also mentioned in his little ad. This also poses a problem. If your gear score is too low then you will not be asked to join. But lets guess where you can get better gear... from dungeons!

Yes that's right! the same dungeons these people wont let you in with them in order to improve your score and get your achievement!

These players are foolish and blind and need to be slapped...by my C***!

Halo: Reach multiplayer in alpha....sort of.

In Bungie's customary weekly update, the first thing they mention is that the upcoming multiplayer beta for what they call "the definitive Halo" is kind of in alpha, but not quite.

Well, not exactly. We’re actually in the Release Candidate phase, which essentially means that the team has already put an astounding amount of absurdly hard work into crafting a representative slice of Halo: Reach’s multiplayer that will ultimately serve as the foundation for the tasty pie that is the public beta. As we speak they’re scrubbing the spit out of it for game breaking bugs and packaging it up real nice so it can be tested and certified before we open the internal flood gates and let a few thousand friends pound on it big time. It's a ton of work and it'll all ensure that the finished product meets our ultra high quality bar across the board.

Sounds like they're really trying to get the beta as sweet and polished as they can and are putting a lot of effort into it.
I for one am looking forward to getting in on some Halo: Reach multiplayer goodness!