Originally Published: September 29, 2010, on ClassicGameRoom.com
I take a look back at Borderlands for the Xbox 360 and remind people of one of the worst endings in gaming history.
Tag Archive: shooter
Originally Published: July 28, 2010, on ESPNNewYork.com and Newsday.com
I previewed All Points Bulletin, the Grand Theft Auto inspired MMORPG from EA, back at PAX East in March and we saw an open-world environment that had our mouths watering from the thought of bringing that much chaos to a constantly evolving MMO style world. With the promise of “no more level grinding” to revolutionize the MMO experience, PC gamers everywhere were keeping a close eye on this title. Now that it has officially launched and is available, could the final product live up to that March demo’s tremendous hype?
First, let me establish the basic story. You are a citizen in the crime ravaged modern city of San Paro and you have a very basic choice at this point in your life. In order to survive you have to join one of two factions, either the criminal faction that feeds on the innocent people of San Paro, or the Enforcers who serve as a vigilante force that feeds on the criminals.
In order to get the most out of my review copy, I set up two separate accounts, one for the criminals and one for the Enforcers to first test the balance since unlike most MMORPGs, these are the only two “classes” you really get to choose from. The difference in difficulty you have playing as an Enforcer compared to the criminal is tremendous, as you must walk a much finer line than the criminals in your “day-to-day” actions. From avoiding killing NPCs to the techniques you must use in trying to apprehend criminals makes you a much better person than me if you choose to be an Enforcer. I found myself gravitating to the much easier criminal faction where your foul actions are rewarded with prestige and money and let’s be honest, it’s a lot more fun causing chaos in video games. Of course, this could just be personal preference though and could be very rewarding for those looking for the challenge of capturing criminals.
As for the gameplay, APB falls truly flat. The promise of “no more grinding” was false as you will find yourself trying to accomplish meaningless graffiti quests in order to level up and unlock bigger and better guns. And you need the better guns in order to advance faster since, just like your typical MMORPG, what weapon you can use depends solely on your level. If APB had made each bullet as powerful as it should be, no matter the gun, instead of me having to pour a 30 bullet clip into a guy like I was playing Gears of War 2 then I would have been impressed. And at least in Gears of War 2 a single grenade was all that was needed to kill an enemy whereas this may take two or three. Add in that it doesn’t matter where you hit the character and your frustration grows very quickly if you’re just starting out. At least the lag is sporadic.
There are some good gameplay elements though. Being able to have impromptu drive-bys is a lot of fun as you cram into a four-door car with your teammates and one guy drives while the other three go to town on your targets. And then if you need to scatter, being able to jump over fences and kick down double doors is a great feeling. Unfortunately, you can feel the game relying on these team building and fighting tactics to get things done. Sometimes you just want to shoot something by yourself.
Aside from the great possible team tactics, the place where APB truly shines is the customization abilities and peripherals for this game. From having your own theme song play whenever you kill someone to logo and decal creation for your clothes, cars, and even whatever you spray paint means you can turn the world into your own little canvas for all other players to see. No other MMO offers you this level of customization for your character and their equipment.
But are great customization features and some random chaos causing elements enough for a buy and then subscription fees? I’m going to lean towards saying no. It is a shame because there were such high hopes for this game from demos and the hype, but in the end it comes off as a water-downed Grand Theft Auto that lacks any real direction or purpose. After devoting a lot of time into APB, I just found myself wishing I was playing a MMORPG that gave me super powers and magical abilities.
APB is available for $49.95 for the install disc and then $9.99 a month after that or for 50-hour blocks of $6.99 each.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 9.0: The game is gorgeous in terms of how much detail you can get on each person with only sporadic lag and the ability to create any and every logo imaginable is a nice touch.
Audio: 9.0: Solid voice acting combined with the ability to mix and assign your own tunes is beyond awesome and I’m surprised no one has thought of it until now.
Plot/Plot Development: 5.0: A nice opening credits cut scene sets up a very simple tale. Will you be a bad guy or a good guy?
Gameplay: 5.0: Being forced to team up with people and having to use 30 bullets and three grenades to take out a single enemy is frustrating beyond belief. I can’t remember the last time I yelled at a game this much. So much for eliminating the level grinding.
Replay Value: 4.0: I’m not a big fan of paying for something that relies on me playing with other people in order to enjoy it.
Overall (not an average): 5.0: It is still early in the life of this MMORPG and so I have hope that many of the problems like weapon balancing and only team driven gameplay will be remedied somehow. As it is, the game might be worth a look for the customization features, but should only be bought if you like the idea of having to level grind in a Grand Theft Auto environment.
All Points Bulletin is available now for the PC.
Also, just for your knowledge, here are the specs for the PC I used:
Windows Home 7 64-bit
Intel Core i7 930 @ 3.2 Ghz
6 GB DDR3 RAM
nVidia GTX 260
-Ray Carsillo
Originally Published: March 22, 2010, on Collider.com, Examiner.com, 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), and PlayerAffinity.com
Those three words sum up the entire premise behind Sega’s latest foray into the mature gaming world as they continue to try to distance themselves from a certain blue rodent. Aliens vs. Predator, the latest addition into a series that has been beaten to death with new iterations of the same name on nearly every system dating back over a decade, returns with what they are claiming is a brand new story, but is really just a rehashed version of the same old one Rebellion Developments and other developers have been pushing out for what seems like forever with this series.
Like in the previous installments of the game, this version of Aliens vs. Predator gives you the opportunity to take control of three different factions and playthrough their respective storylines. Unlike previous installments of the game though where there were three completely different story arcs, these three story arcs all interconnect.
You can play as the Aliens (Survivors), or xenomorphs, as they are referred to as in this fictional universe, where the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from the movies are still trying to obtain and train a xenomorph specimen for their own nefarious means. This time, they have captured one on a faraway planet that happens to have these strange ruins that look very familiar to anyone who has seen the movies. As the xenomorph, it is your objective to escape the facility where you were raised to maturity and to wreak havoc on your oppressors. With your prehensile tail, ability to walk on walls, and a hatred for the flesh bags who have imprisoned your queen, you must find a way to not only destroy the on-world facility, but find a way off-world to continue spreading your species.
You can also play as the Predator (Hunters). This ancient race whose society is based on battle and honor has come to this strange planet with a group of Youngbloods to test their worthiness by slaying the Predator’s most ancient enemy, the xenomorphs. It is with rage and disgust upon your arrival to find that humans have settled near one of your temples and have pillaged your proving grounds. You must not only wipe out the greedy humans for disgracing your people, but also avoid the constant xenomorph threat at the same time.
And last, and most definitely least, you can play as a Human (Prey). Assigned to a Weyland-Yutani task force, your marine squad is sent planet side after a colony unearthed something in those ruins they probably shouldn’t have. With your limited military might, your objective is to uncover exactly what happened to the planet-side colonists while escaping with your life.
As you can see, it is basically the exact same storyline for every Aliens, Predator, or Aliens vs. Predator movie or video game to have ever come out where your mission is the most basic of missions: to survive.
Aside from a lack of originality, the game does deliver some decent first-person shooter action. Each species brings its own distinct advantages and challenges to the gamplay. The aliens rely almost entirely on stealth and cannot afford a full frontal assault on any group of humans or else you’ll be mowed down with extreme prejudice. This means you spend a good amount of time trying to avoid vertigo as you walk on ceilings and try to take out all the lights in a room before dropping down onto your unsuspecting prey and rip them to shreds in an exquisitely gruesome fashion. Sometimes you slit their throats with your tail and other times you can use your inner mouth to rip out their eyeballs as they scream in terror and the blood splatters across your screen.
The Humans have the greatest disadvantage of the group and so in order to compensate, carry the biggest guns imaginable. From sniper rifles with night vision to wide impact shotguns, the humans have the most to fear so they have the most to shoot stuff with. Although this provides a more traditional FPS experience, it also provides the greatest challenge due to the fact that your foes can come from literally anywhere without you knowing. This also creates a nice sense of suspense as you progress and gives the truest feeling to the movies.
Then comes the Predators and they are the best-known hunters in the universe for a reason. From plasma rifles to disc blades to one hit kill staves, there is no reason why you would want to be anything but the Predator. Even on the hardest of difficulties, the Predator puts his two counterparts to shame and offers the least challenging of the game experiences.
Each species has six levels, including the almost mandatory tutorial level, and each campaign shouldn’t take more than five hours, even on the hardest difficulty, to complete any of them. This only gives you a 15 hour single player experience, and the multiplayer is usually a wash because everyone wants to be the Predator, again due to its being head and shoulders above the other two species.
There are four difficulty levels, with the hardest mode taking away all mid-level checkpoints, that could bring you back for more, but one playthrough should be enough for most any gamer, even the most die-hard of FPS fans. There was a minimum of glitches throughout with the very straightforward gamplay and the game features some good graphics, even though the background textures were somewhat plain, and some nice shadow effects. Throw in a decent musical score to set a suspenseful mood for much of the game and you have a solid, but not spectacular, experience for what has become a rather banal franchise.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 7.0: Good shadow effects were a nice touch, especially during the xenomorph levels, but using the same five or six basic skins for all the enemies got very repetitive and the blood effects were average at best. The level textures were also very simple and won’t push your system too hard.
Audio: 8.0: A nice musical score sets a very suspenseful mood, but the limited loop of screams, hisses, grunts, and clicks made by the various species in the game takes away from the overall experience as they become redundant quickly. Add in some subpar voice acting for the human campaign and the audio is good, but not great.
Plot/Plot Development: 3.0: Shoot stuff and survive. That’s all you need to know and that’s all they really explain to you.
Gameplay: 7.0: A minimal amount of minor glitches on a game that won’t push your system anywhere near to its full capabilities. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but it doesn’t fail as a FPS either.
Replay Value: 7.0: Although the multiplayer becomes tired quickly as most people choose the Predator species, it is a nice multiplayer system, even if it takes some time to match you up with other players. There isn’t a lot to bring you back to the campaign, but at least they offer you four difficulties with collectibles scattered throughout each level for the sole purpose of attracting achievement/trophy hogs.
Overall (not an average): 6.0: A solid FPS, but by no means does it break any ground and the lack of creativity with this franchise as a whole is frustrating. A strongly recommended rental, but I would avoid as a full-blown purchase.
Aliens vs. Predator is available now for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
-Ray Carsillo
Originally Published: September 22, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com), Lundberg.me, and Examiner.com
With hundreds of possible stories and battlefronts out there, it wasn’t hard for Bungie to continue to expand the already infamous Halo canon. With that, I give you Halo 3: ODST.
With the exploits of Master Chief well documented in the intergalactic struggle against the Covenant, many people forget that this war is fought on many different fronts and has been ongoing for decades.
One of the newest battlefronts is Earth, the last great human stronghold, and recently discovered by the Covenant. So while Master Chief is on the other side of the universe, the war is still going on and has finally hit home.
This is where the ODSTs come in. Labeled for their preferred form of being dropped into battle from their space cruisers, the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are the best of the best (aside from Master Chief, of course).
Taking place during the time between Halo 2 and Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST (labeled such due to the game using the Halo 3 engine and the inclusion of the Halo 3 multiplayer as well) follows the story of a squad of ODSTs as they race against the Covenant for an artifact in the city of New Mombasa in the East African province (Kenya in real world terms, I believe).
Your main character is simply know as “The Rookie” as you are introduced to the rest of your squad in the opening cinema before you drop into battle. When you arrive the Covenant assault is well under way. After launching from your cruiser to counterattack, a Covenant drop ship warps in and the ensuing shockwave scatters your squad throughout the region. After waking up about 6 hours after crash landing in New Mombasa, how you view Halo is forever changed.
There is still your typical run and gun first-person shooter mayhem and plenty of opportunities for it, but there is also a tremendous new detective and suspense element added to the game. As the Rookie, you befriend an A.I. program called “The Superintendent”. Simpler than Cortana for you Halo vets, the Superintendent still is critical in your mission as he helps tell you the story of how New Mombasa fell and point you in the right direction as he uses street signs, car alarms, ATMs, and other civic devices it can control to steer your path.
After befriending the Superintendent, you put your detective skills (and some sweet night vision goggles) to use as you search New Mombasa for clues to the whereabouts of your squad mates. As you find more items belonging to your mates, from your Captain’s helmet to your sniper’s rifle, you begin to piece together what happened when you got knocked out, all the while exploring Bungie’s largest sandbox environment to date.
The most exciting new aspect of this game comes when you find each item because you actually get to see through the eyes of your other squad mates to see how the items came to be in the condition they’re in and to see the battle unfold. This ensures that you will play as every member of your squad at some point to experience how it feels to be a sniper, a demolitions expert, a heavy gunner, etc. and to see how the full story of the New Mombasa post-invasion unfolds.
With that said, there is also plenty of your old favorite activities returning like hijacking Covenant Banshee or Ghost ships or hopping onto the turret of a UNSC Warthog. There are also randomly generated fights against the whole spectrum of Covenant foes as well as all your favorite weapons being available again from sticky grenades to swiping a downed foe’s Needler.
I will admit to not being obsessed about the Halo series as much as many other people, but I could not put this game down. It only took me about 10 hours to beat the campaign mode, but the time flew by and I was left wanting more.
The graphics are beyond beautiful and the music helps set up an almost film noir, classic detective story kind of feel that you just don’t see nowadays, especially in a futuristic game like Halo.
There isn’t a lot to bring you back to the campaign aside from the Superintendent audio logs, but the new Firefight mode, similar to the Gears of War Horde mode, with endless waves of enemies as you try to improve your score and the included Halo 3 multiplayer will keep most Halo fans happy for a long time to come.
In the end, my only complaint about this game was that it ended too soon for me. Although 10 hours of gameplay is about the norm for most games nowadays, I just didn’t want it to end. I wish I had 20 ODSTs in my squad and that I was still searching for more of their items. This is a must have for any Halo or first-person shooter fan.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.
Graphics: 10.0: I don’t know how they could make this game look more gorgeous. The graphics really helped stress the mystery the game was trying to go for and were spectacular.
Audio: 10.0: The music might set the mood even better than the look of post-invasion New Mombasa. When music can help draw emotion from the player, it has succeeded and this soundtrack does that. Add in the typically strong SFX and great voice acting from all those involved and I can’t dock any points for this.
Plot/Plot Development: 10.0: The plot fits in perfectly with the Halo canon and the way the game leads you along through the different areas of New Mombasa as you search for your squad mates and try to unravel the sub-plots of the New Mombasa invasion makes this one of the more engrossing games I’ve played in a while.
Gameplay: 9.0: The game is glitchless. The controls are relatively natural, but I had some difficulty driving several of the vehicles you get to control at separate points throughout the levels and they felt a lot less natural than when you are on foot.
Replay Value: 7.5: Not wanting to take away from the Halo 3 community, ODST doesn’t support its own original multiplayer and the Firefight mode is really just Horde mode from Gears with a Halo twist. Add in a minimum of collectibles for campaign mode and you have to figure that Halo fans will still be thrilled about this, but more casual fans will probably see this as a one and done.
Overall (not an average): 9.5: Minor complaints aside, this is one of the best games I’ve played in recent memory. I’m starting to form my game of the year predictions and this has to be in the conversation. The story was brilliantly done and the peripherals are perfect. I wanted a little more in terms of replay value, but overall this game is top of the line.
Halo 3: ODST is available now for Xbox 360.
-Ray Carsillo
Originally Published: September 16, 2009, on 1050ESPN.com (now ESPNNewYork.com) and Lundberg.me
In military terms, when a soldier is listed as “Section 8” it means he has been discharged for being mentally unfit for duty. It is also the title of the new first-person shooter from TimeGate Studios and SouthPeak Games.
The reason why the game is called Section 8 is because you play as a special brand of marines several hundred years in the future. These super soldiers are the first ones in and the last ones out of any situation (like modern marines), but the squad is known as “Section 8” due to their disregard for their own well being. Oh, one other minor detail: they are rocketed out of ships hovering several miles above planets at the speed of sound and usually crash land into the terrain without pulling their parachutes. “Section 8” makes a little more sense now, eh?
Of course, several hundreds years in the future, their body armor protects them from such punishing collisions, but these guys wouldn’t be deployed if there weren’t some dangerous situations to deal with once they get planet-side and the armor and personal shields can’t stop every bullet or energy blast.
Along with the awesome effect of starting out every level and multiplayer spawn with being shot like a bullet into the battle, you can choose up to six different weapon configurations or customize your own if the six provided don’t float your boat.
The interesting thing with this game is that it focuses on the multiplayer aspects and the campaign mode was more a secondary feature. If you’re looking for a single player campaign along the lines of Halo or Gears of War, you will be sorely disappointed. This game is all about the interaction with other people and changing strategies on the fly in between spawns, whether playing alone or in multiplayer.
The campaign mode does give you a little depth to the situation that the “Section 8” squad finds themselves in and who you are fighting against, but it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to blow through the campaign as it is really nothing more than a warm-up or glorified practice mode before you get into the multiplayer.
With up to 32 players on the battlefield at once, the multiplayer impresses without a hint of lag as you work to hack enemy consoles, assassinate enemy generals, and set up mobile bases and call in tanks for support against all possible foes. With a constantly changing battlefield and missions for bonus points popping up at random, the multiplayer will keep you entertained for a long while as no situation is ever the same twice.
Of course, supporting such a large multiplayer means that a lot of disk space is occupied and that means the peripherals suffer some. The graphics and sound effects are average at best. It’s difficult to tell enemies apart from terrain at times and the music and SFX are generic. The voice acting in the single-player campaign is alright, nothing special though.
The selling point for this game is definitely the multiplayer and so if you are a fan of first-person shooters with huge arenas and settings and devote hours of time towards the multiplayer function on most of your games, then this game is for you. If you are looking for an immersive single player campaign experience with a huge background story, then you will want to steer clear of Section 8.
Ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best.
Graphics: 7.5: There is nothing spectacular about the visuals for Section 8. The players themselves are nice looking, but a lot of simple backgrounds and terrains to keep the strain on the 32-player multiplayer to a minimum keeps this at an average score.
Audio: 7.0: Generic SFX and lackluster music is definitely not the highlight of this gaming experience. The voice acting is decent in the single player campaign, but not good enough to boost this average display.
Plot/Plot Development: 4.0: There isn’t much to the plot. You’re a suicidal soldier in the “Section 8” squad and you are trying to quell some rebel forces. The plot flew by as the campaign only takes up a couple hours of your time, but again, this game focused solely on the multiplayer and the campaign was more of an after-thought.
Gameplay: 8.0: The game flows smoothly and is especially impressive when in full 32-player mayhem. The lock-on and targeting systems can be a little frustrating at times so I have to dock a couple of points, but overall this is an enjoyable experience.
Replay Value: 8.0: If you love multiplayer, this is the game for you. Constantly changing scenarios and being allowed to update your strategies on the fly between spawns makes this a multiplayer dream. I have to take a couple points off for there really being nothing in the campaign to bring you back after the first play through.
Overall (not an average): 6.5: If you are not a multiplayer fanatic, it is hard to recommend this game as the single player campaign isn’t very appeasing at all. This is not Gears of War or Halo. However, if you love the thought of ever-changing multiplayer scenarios, love interacting with people online, and have an Xbox Live gold account or a sweet modem, then this game is going to be worth a look, but I would rent it before buying it to make sure.
Section 8 is available now for Xbox 360 and PC.
-Ray Carsillo
RayCarsilloWrites.com 