What is it about World War II that compels us to pick up the controller for the umpteenth time to resume our imaginary hostilities towards the Germans, in this case the Japanese? Perhaps war was more simple then where the technology was only advanced enough where the killers saw the white of their prey’s eyes before sending them to hell for their audacity to stand. Battlefield 1943 puts you in the thick of this mayhem and it does this all the while making you forget that you only paid fifteen dollars to witness it. The latest downloadable game from Electronic Arts is a throwback to the original Battlefield 1942 in that the maps are preserved from its predecessor but it also makes it current by making employing some current conventions as you will see…

First of all, although it may sound rather superficial, the graphics look great. As you and your squad mates take off towards the island of Iwo Jima because the fastest bastards have taken to the skies for the birds eye view, you’ll notice the rich blues of the ocean as well as the lush green foliage that enrich the landscape. You commandeer the first jeep you see as the way to the first village is just a little far to go by foot, which may clue you in as to how large these maps are in comparison to some games in the genre, and you floor it, hoping to capture the first flag and declare the town in the name of the Americans (or Japanese depending on which uniform you wear). You climb up a lookout tower and gaze through your sniper rifle with your breath stifled in your throat only to find out that on the far side of the island, your enemy is already on its way to put in a world of hurt whether on foot, in a tank, the aforementioned jeep, or a plane mounted with machine guns and a bomb that will send you back to a spawning point or perhaps destroy an adjacent building as well. This comes courtesty of the Frost Bite engine from Bad Company that allows for a decent of destruction within the environment. No more hiding behind paper thin walls to avoid a round from a tank. This is Battlefield 1943, not Ticklefield, only soldiers need apply.

There are three classes to choose from, each demand their own gameplay, and none will stop you from switching classes every now and again. First comes the Rifleman, with his rifle you can send powerful rounds quite a distance away or you can shoot grenades from this versatile weapon to eradicate foot soldiers or even jeeps. Next the Infantry, which packs a machine gun that can extinguish troops from a relatively short distance or you can even lob grenades to draw campers out of hiding. He also packs a bazooka that will put a tank to bed without much trouble which is important as tanks can be formidable in the right hands. A wrench is also at the ready to repair vehicles, which is interesting, but I found it of little use given the disposable nature of the vehicles. Even so it can be convenient at the right moment. Which brings us to the Scout. This class employs the sniper rifle, which is deadly from long distances in the right hands. The scout also has a trusty sidearm for close encounters with the agressor, but a little luck may be necessary if it’s infantry with a machine gun lubed and ready for your ass. Also, remote bombs are included so you can rig a bridge to blow and just wait for a tank to go by unawares. It is my understanding that there was a medic class in the original game that is no longer here. This is where 1943 has become sort of modernized in that your character has the Wolverine-ish ability to heal after absorbing many bullets which Call of Duty and many others made famous. I mean after all, health packs are now obsolete in the pantheon of first person gaming and Wolverine don’t need no stinking medic. In conclusion, depending on the play style you are in the mood for, there are different ways to enjoy the environment.

The controls are tight and responsive, I had no trouble drawing a bead on a soldier and making him pay for being slower on the trigger. I also found the vehicles to control rather well with the jeep not suffering from floaty physics which would’ve made the terrain difficult to navigate. The tank is similar to the jeep in control scheme but you have to keep an eye on which way you are aiming versus which way you are driving. The HUD shows you this with a simple diagram that is unimposing and it helps tremendously. Flyboys can take to the skies in one of the planes if you are lucky enough to get one… everyone wants to dogfight it seems. It may feel a little strange at first but I don’t find the mechanics that bizarre where I couldn’t just get busy the first time. I always was a fan of flight simulators while simultaneously being afraid of heights and this may have prepared me for what lied here. However I find the whole affair to be kinda sluggish in this game, and while enjoyable, I doubt I will lose sleep because I can’t get to a plane as easily as I may have liked.

Anyone who follows the podcast here will quickly identify that perhaps I am not the right person to review this game as I rarely indulge in multiplayer gameplay. I faithfully pay my fifty dollars every year to make sure that I can do it but not too often will you see me in a room laughing at the demise of others under the wrath of my trusty rifle, gun, fist, etc. However, in anticipation of the podcast, I sat at SkricLee’s house watching the game in action and found myself wanting to seize the controller from my host and start poppin’ cats my damn self. I was actually puzzled as to why this was and as I sat there, mystified by my compulsion to play this game it hit me: the large maps are what did it for me. I don’t like to be confined in a multiplayer experience as I get smoked damn near the same time I spawn by a camper. This frustration goes back to my days playing Counterstrike back in college, which I loved, but at the same time no one would confuse me for the professional hitman. Between that and switching between classes sealed the deal. Fifteen dollars flew out of my bank account and nearly six hundred megabytes of my hard drive became occupied. All in all, this whole experience has redefined what I can expect from Xbox Live Arcade as far as size and scope. With only three maps and a useless fourth coming soon, one may make the inference that it may get old quickly but as long as the community stays strong here, I don’t see that a possibility until Bad Company II supplants 1943 as my multiplayer game of choice….

Now, I know I’ve been gone for some time, but what’s up with there being no BioShock 2 article on the site? It’s not just on this site either. There is a lack of official information about BioShock 2 on all sites that I visit. So I figured I would piece together this preview with all the info I have collected thus far.  The most important bit of info is the official release date. It is due for release on November 3, 2009 in North America.

This will be a complete different story from the first one, as the player will take the role of the first Big Daddy ever created in Rapture. This Big Daddy has superior speed and intelligence in comparison to the other Big Daddies. Because of this the player will be able to use the Big Daddy’s drill and rivet gun as weapons. However, as in all games, even the drill has its limits. It will overheat if used continuously. The rivet gun will have several types of ammo, just as in the first game.

Unlike the other Big Daddies, the user controlled character will be allowed to use plasmids and have unique ways to upgrade them. A new and exciting feature added to the game will be the ability to dual-wield plasmids and weapons. In addition, the player may also perform the ever so annoying shoulder dash from the first game. I know everyone found that shoulder dash was the most annoying and ridiculous attack the Big Daddy’s arsenal.

A huge upgrade to the game will also be exploring the outside world of rapture. Thanks to the diving suit of the Big Daddy, players will be able to explore the ocean floor of Rapture, where you may recover from fights, harvest ADAM from sea slugs, or just stare at the beauty of the city from the outside.

Now as a Big Daddy, the way to obtain ADAM is slightly different from the first story. The player will be given the choice of either killing the Little Sister from huge amounts of ADAM, or he can adopt her, and she will harvest ADAM for you. Now knowing how games are, you know you’re going to want those extra 50 or 100 gamer points, for not killing any Little Sister, and you’ll be forced to adopt every single one. Here is where the slugs also come in. To help the player from going insane from not being able to kill the Little Sisters and always having to take care of them, the sea slugs are gene-modified so they create ADAM. Originally, these were the first idea for creating ADAM instead of Little Sisters.

Probably the biggest pain in the game will be protecting the Little Sisters. After defeating Big Daddies, the player will be able to capture Little Sisters. They will ride along with you and harvest ADAM from corpses. However, Splicers will be able to damage the Little Sister, and this will also delay the process of gathering ADAM. The option of Rescuing the Little Sisters will become available at some point in the game, but not until later in the story.

Now, while we’re on the subject of Little Sisters, BioShock 2 introduces a major new character, the Big Sister. Having survived the events of the first game, she has mechanized herself in a similar fashion to the Big Daddies and has become the new ruler of Rapture. Under her control, the city has reached an equilibrium, where she maintains the city’s infrastructure and hunts down anyone who disrupts the balance of power. Set 10 years after the events of BioShock, she is the cause of the reported kidnappings of young girls from a number of towns in order to turn them into Big Sisters just like her. She is also the biggest threat to you that there is. Appearing only after you have killed a certain number of Big Daddies, will she attack, and trust me you don’t want to mess with this Sister. Not only is she more powerful than you, she is lightning quick, and she is able to harvest ADAM from her enemies through a harvesting needle, straight into her bloodstream, fueling her telekinetic abilities beyond anything thought possible. Now my question her is why can’t we do that. I mean really, what’s wrong with giving us a needle so we can do it. I know I would enjoy the game a lot more if I were the one sticking a huge needle into my enemy to extract ADAM. This is where you’ll need the Little Sisters to warn you when the Big Sister is approaching. This gives the player the opportunity to set up traps, buy items, and any other precautions you think you should take.

A huge improvement, or at least I think so, is the ability to regenerate your health through the use of the Vita-Chamber and the use of audio diaries. I remember it was just a pain to have to buy all those first aid kits, and it was a huge waste of money that I could have used on other important items.

Another part of the game that I think most of us are looking forward to is multiplayer. Now don’t mistake this for co-op mode. This will not be available for this story either, and I think you know whom I’m referring to when I say no co-op mode, sorry to confuse those. But as of now I don’t know much on the multiplayer aspect of the game of how this will even work. I’ll keep you posted on any information I find out later.

What does the Scout do when he is not smashing Heavies in the head with an aluminum baseball bat and stealing their sandwich? He’s pimping kitchen appliances during late night infomercials, obviously!  Hit the jump for a bonus video.

I included the following video for shits and giggles. It’s kinda in theme.

Big announcement from Capcom today concerning Lost Planet 2. Mr. Mortal couldn’t be happier.. not sure why since the Japanese lag can get pretty “NO FUCKIN WAY yo” !! lolz .. nah, Lost Planet was one of my first games for the Xbox360 and one of the most unique titles skrIc shit on. I remember thinking how ill it looked… the explosion animations were simply retarded and are still unrivaled in my opinion. No date was announced but this is definately on my “cop” list for sure. werdup … check it out

sKb

Battlefield: Bad Company

Now, I’m aware this may be old news to many but with the recently reduced price tag I was surprised to find a thriving online community and a more than decent campaign. Sleepy heads and penny pinchers should find this game well worth the investment. All your Call Of Duty 4 needs are met and ups the ante with (almost) fully destructive environments that are sure to keep them sneaky campmiesters in check. Plus the sh*ts pretty funny!

From an “achievement point” standing, this game will take some time and dedication to earn the full 1000. The campaign offers a relatively easy 630 points for a small investment of 20 to 25 hours. Heres some rules of thumb for getting this knocked out!

• Play on the hardest difficulty first. Why:

1. Always play any game on its most difficult setting from the beginning. Getting your ass kicked from jump is the only way to get better. Listen to your unkle sKric!!!
2. The campaign has to be beaten twice (non-stackable). Once on Normal and once on Hard (pause). Doing so will make finding all the collectables and other random achievements alot easier because you will be familiar with the environments and story.

• Heal often!!!

• Your squads A.I. is NOT helpful. Don’t rely on them to get you out of a tough spot.

• There are only a certain number of enemies on any given level. If you die but managed to take out three of say ten enemies, only seven will be left to finish when you respawn.

• If your in a vehicle when you die, you will respawn in the same vehicle but with its health at 100%. Sweet

• Reload/Run “glitch”. You can override the reloading animation if you click and release run quickly after triggering the reload. Very helpful with LMG’s and Rocket Launchers.

A detailed list of all the collectables and gold can be found here: http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78788

If you have any questions feel free to post it up!!

Peace

skB

what part of the game is that?!!

http://www.gamermodz.com/Gears-of-War-2-Perfect-Active-Reload-Mods/productinfo/GOW2MODS/

really?! aye.. call me a “purist” but this sh*ts just wrong.. WRONG I TELL YA!!!

The word around the water cooler is that FREE downloadable content is coming out this spring for Left 4 Dead. That’s great … but … one of the main components of  the DLC is something that should have been included in the full retail version on day one. It unlocks the two campaign missions, Dead Air and Death Toll  for play in multiplayer.

The DLC also include a new mode called Survival Mode, which sound a lot like Horde Mode. Players attempt to survive endless hordes of zombies on at least 12 maps. That sounds awesome. I just hope Valve does better players support for 360 L4D players than it did for 360 TF2 players. People who Played Team Fortress 2 on the PC got  new weapons, achievements, levels, and play modes. 360 owners are still waiting.

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Last week during an Activision In-Game Ad Conference, they let it be known, that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is official in development. We all knew it was a given, but it’s nice to know its official. I wonder when the beta test is gonna be?

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Playing in a sandbox might seem like child’s play but thats hardly the case with the new map “Sandbox” coming out for Halo 3. Sandbox is part of the mythic map pack.  Sandbox is specially built for Halo 3’s “Forge” map editor. It’s a  fully customizable map similar to Foundry (of the Heroic Map Pack). What makes Sandbox unique is the special blue grid that hovers over the entire map. It allows an entirely  new layer on which you can build. This lets you be as creative and original as possible. One could say it brings Forging to a whole new level.

New Forgers be warned the map does have a cap on how many items may be put on the map. This is to try to decrease the amount of posible glitches and or hiccups. This map has a lot of new structures that are specificly designed for Sandbox, which adds up to endless possibilities. This will really help to bring out the inner kid in any gamer if that doesn’t do the trick then the golf equipment  might.

I need to start crawling the official Gears Of War 2 forum more often. Everytime I checked it out this past week, I found a new tweek or change to the game play. Some are minor. Some are game changing. Rod Fergusson recently posted this bittersweet bit of info:

Hey all,

I wanted to let you know that we just made a tweak to help with two-piecing. We didn’t want to nerf the attacker as that seems unfair so instead we reduced the melee stagger recovery time a tiny bit. This creates a small window in which the defender can now evade away from the attacker before being shotgunned. Obviously evading perpindicular is always the best choice.

Anyway, give it a try and let us know what you think!

Thanks,

– Rod.
Executive Producer, Gears of War 2

The sweet part is I HATE getting two pieced. The bitter part is I LOVE to catch someone trying to snipe, unaware that I am behind them, and splatter them with two piece and a biscuit.